My Ideal Academia
by Saraak
Summary: As Shirou was dragged into the hole left behind by the grail, the grail itself reaches out to him, acknowledging him as the true winner of the Fifth Holy Grail war. His wish of becoming a Hero is closer to being granted than he originally thought. Now in a world where being a Hero is a feasible profession, will he become a true ally of justice?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

Circuits cried out in pain, unable to supply much more prana.

Emiya Shirou felt the last bit of Rin's borrowed prana fade away. Gasping in pain, Shirou gazed towards his foe, the now arm-less king before him, and gasped in pain whilst the golden servant's blood stained his clothes.

Gilgamesh straightened himself and directed a glare towards him. Although compared to past glares, this gaze told him that what Gilgamesh felt was less annoyed and more… Tolerating.

In fact it was somewhat similar to respect.

That, or Shirou's eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Running out of mana is a pathetic ending." Gilgamesh said, calling out to his Gate of Babylon and readied a sword to spear through Shirou,

"The victory is yours. Die with that satisfaction, faker."

Shirou's limbs cried out as he tried yet again to move, unwilling to meet any kind of demise.

Shirou grit his teeth in frustration as his body protested.

However several seconds pass in silence, confusing the Emiya greatly.

Was he not going to end him? In fact when Shirou looked closer, he noticed that Gilgamesh was still heaving heavily.

Did it cost the servant mana to shoot out his treasures like a bullet?

Those kinds of thoughts died out as soon as Shirou saw something odd.

Appearing from where Gilgamesh's severed limb would have been, a small burst of malevolent prana made itself known, bursting from the golden servant's side in a hollow cry.

"What!?" Gilgamesh said in shock, as it rose and grew larger.

He held onto his shoulder where it chose to drift to once it manifested, and gritted his teeth.

"Swallowing me accomplishes nothing-!"

What ever Gilgamesh planned to say next was cut odd as dust and prana were dragged into it, causing it to expand, enveloping the entirety of the Gold servant.

"Wait!" The King called out, despite the fact that it would not listen.

"A hole left by the Holy Grail..?" Those words left Shirou's mouth without his knowledge.

The hole of the grail grew until it formed into a pseudo black hole, unrelentingly and not permitting anything to escape it's grasp.

It was at this time that Shirou cursed his lack of magical knowledge to explain the phenomenon before him.

It would seem that his thoughts had left his guard open as a golden chain shot out from the hole wrapping around Shirou's arm. Even if he saw it coming, his arms were in constant pain and screamed in protest.

He couldn't dodged it in time.

The sudden pull made Shirou jump to his feet in order to keep himself from being dragged into the hole. He could feel his muscles cry in protest at the action, but it was either the burning pain or winding up within the hole before him. Something he did not want at all.

"That malformed abomination!"

Shirou strained his ears once he heard the Golden servant's voice once more.

He gazed at the hole where the chain originated, only to see Gilgamesh dragging himself out using his left arm, which was admittedly a remarkable feat.

"Does it not know that a fellow servant cannot be made it's core!" Gilgamesh shouted,

At least Shirou now knew what the Grail was attempting.

Shirou gritted his teeth as he felt himself being dragged even closer, "Damn…" Shirou voiced out, "Are you trying to take me with you?"

"Fool! I haven't the least bit of intention of dying! Stay where you are… at least until I climb back to where you are!"

Instantly, Shirou grew irritated. "Don't screw with me!"

While Shirou did not want the King of Heroes to survive, he also did not want to die here. So Shirou strained his body once more and push into the dirt, trying to create a more stable footing.

Unfortunately it didn't seem to work as he was dragged ever closer.

"If I need to, I'll rip of my own arm to keep you there!"

The two continually struggled against each other, both unwilling to share an unsatisfying end.

However Gilgamesh only smirked.

Shirou widened his eyes ' _What is he thinking?_ '

Beside the Gold king, a second portal revealed itself and ejected a certain chain which wrapped around the king's body.

"Too bad, Faker! I am no longer in need of you!"

Once the chain secured the king's being, the chain's other end shot past Shirou and towards the treeline. Undoubtedly wrapping itself around a tree to leave Shirou behind!

"Damn it-" Shirou shouted, but widened his eyes once he noticed the new chain that Gilgamesh shot out was being pulled back towards him.

"What?!" Gilgamesh shouted in frustration, "Did Enkidu wrap around a blasted forest animal?"

In Gilgamesh's mind he thought of that as ironic…

"Damn it!" A voice from behind Shirou.

A _familiar_ voice.

As Shirou was struggling against the pull of the grail, he turned his head to gaze at what was being dragged.

Or rather, _who_.

Archer, the one who Gilgamesh was supposed to have _obliterated_ with his rain of noble phantasms, appeared from the treeline being dragged without resistance by the chains of Enkidu.

Archer's expression was of extreme anger and frustration as he flew towards the hole.

"Move! Fool!" Archer shouted,

"Archer!?" Shirou shouted in surprise,

Despite the fact that Shirou could clearly see Archer barreling towards him, he could not move.

Yet again, Shirou blamed his searing muscles as Archer impacted Shirou, pushing him off his feet and dragging him along towards the King of Heroes.

Gilgamesh's eyes widened into disbelief once he realized what had occurred.

"Incompetent Fakers!" Gilgamesh shouted in anger as he was dragged deeper into the grail hole alongside Shirou and Archer.

Before anything else happened, the hole imploded in a burst of dust, closing itself off from the world.

A while away, Saber was carrying the Matou scion on her shoulder, walked alongside Rin towards where they last saw Shirou.

However they slowly grew more confused and worried as they could not find any trace of the Homurahara brownie.

No trace, save for the blood stains left behind by the battle of the Faker and the King.

* * *

The grail was conflicted.

While it did not have the ability to communicate in the most mundane of ways, it did have the ability to learn via the simple method of mental invasion.

In other words, mind reading.

It knew who was the true winner of the Grail war, for he had proved himself before the grail through an arduous battle, filled stunning tenacity and an idealistic mind.

If the grail could choose a more noble victor, then it would have chosen no other.

The only problem was how the grail was supposed to grant its victor his wish now that he had been dragged into the grail hole.

The hole that the grail itself had created.

The grail had created its own dilemma with almost no solutions available. There was only one thing it could do.

It had to correct its error.

After reaching outwards towards the victor before his presence faded from their reality forever, the grail released the stored magical energy from the past holy grail wars and enacted it's one true purpose.

A voice from within itself cried out in protest. The entity that had resided within itself for over a century advocated its false claim.

The grail knew that it was not the actual winner, but through the magical contract that created it, the grail was still was bound to grant the entity's wish due to it being the single remaining conscious entity of the third grail war.

For now, the grail ignored it's cries as it latched onto the magical signature of its victor. Once the grail had done so, it reached out to the victor and felt where the grail hole was taking him.

If the grail could emulate a basic human smile then it would have done so, but sadly that reality was an impossibility for now.

Within a second the grail had learned of what kind of world the victor would be finding himself flung into.

A world of Heroes.

It was without a doubt the best world that would grant the victor's ultimate wish!

… However there were a few problems that he would encounter.

The two that were pulled alongside the victor, the victor's older self and the Golden Servant who had withstood bathing within the Entity's essence over a decade ago, were undoubtedly going to be a hassle for the victor to deal with down the line should they appear together.

However the chances of that are unlikely. Those two were of no issue. No, the real problem that had arisen with granting the victor's was…

… The victor was too _old_. His age would prove a problem within that society. He would be met with suspicion, people would not trust him and therefore he would lose the one chance for his wish.

It would also lock the victor out from the ideal route towards his wish.

This was _unacceptable_.

So there was but one choice left.

The younger a stranger, the more willing people are to overlook things or nurture for them. The grail prepared itself to grant a miracle that would lower its victor's age.

The grail would ensure that the victor would take advantage of this aspect of human behavior, willingly or not.

But as the grail nearly enacted it's will, it felt _it_ take action.

The entity that resided within it had made a move, its first move in over a decade.

The grail had let it's guard down, and now the entity had managed to follow the meager trail the grail created to the victor.

Wherever the location the victor would appear, the entity would not, but the time of arrival would almost be simultaneous.

However the grail did not stop the entity, even if it could.

The entity would undoubtedly play an important role for the victors wish whether the victor knew that or not.

Once the grail felt the victor's age reduce, it let go. Unfortunately, due to the entity's interruption, the victor's circuits were sealed off once more, most likely due to the fact that the grail had also reduced the soul's hypothetical age. Hopefully the memories were intact.

The grail had done it's part, the victor would find his way along the new world and accomplish his dream along the ideal route.

If the grail was asked why did it reduce the victor's age? The answer was quite simple to those who would be given the same choice.

To become a hero in that world, the ideal path to lead the victor to his wish…

 _It would be his own road to his dreams_

A place where he would attain his Ideals in a way that would not conflict with the world. _… his Ideal Academia_

… And as to why the grail allowed the entity to follow the victor to the new world?

 _Every Hero needs his villain._

As sad as that truth is, he could not become the Hero he had wished to be without an evil to face. _What better evil than all of the world's?_

The wish had been granted. Now the grail had but one single directive left to take…

… Rest, and return once more at a different time to grant yet another wish for yet another victor…

… However that time may come sooner than even the grail would have thought… if it could have the ability for conscious the thought.

* * *

 **Added in a fact that his soul's age was reduced by the grail due to interruptions. I've already written the parts where Shirou re-unlocks them so changing it at this stage is inefficient.**


	2. Chapter 1 - A Sword in a new World

**Chapter 1**

* * *

The first thing Shirou thought of once he opened his eyes was pain. It wasn't the kind of pain that made you cry out, but it was more on the stinging side.

He had found himself in the middle of an alleyway with not a single soul within his sight.

Where was he?

Shirou had no clue at all, which meant that all he could do now was pick a direction and walk.

As Shirou turned to take a step, he noticed the world around him tilt slightly.

Before Shirou could think more of it, he had fallen face first onto the cement.

 _Hard_ _._

"What in the…" He involuntarily muttered.

As Shirou struggled to rise as he exerted his muscles.

 _What was going on?_

As he lifted his left hand towards himself and noticed that his hand had looked smaller than how he initially remembered it. An ominous thought crept its way into Shirou's thoughts as he lifted himself up.

A glint of light caught his eye as he turned back to the heap of trash that he woke up on. After some rummaging around he had found a mildly shattered mirror.

Once he had gazed upon it, he was shocked. What he had seen would be forever ingrained into his memory.

"I'm… a kid?"

One singular glance at the reflection and he could tell.

He lacked the pronounced chin, and his cheeks had reverted to their previously round form.

He reached for his own cheek and yanked.

 _Hard_ _._

"Ow…"

He had felt pain, meaning that it was no illusion whatsoever.

"Damn it… What is going on?"

He dropped the mirror, stepped away from the trash pile, wobbling as he was not used to his younger form yet, and walked down the alleyway.

Wherever he was, he was not going to get answers from a trash pile.

He would need to find a phone booth and immediately contact Rin to let her know of the situation. Afterward. he would set up a rendezvous point to-

His thoughts broke off once he heard a scream.

Without wasting a second. Shirou bolted down the alley, stumbling slightly before tripping. Scraping his knees in the process.

But that did not deter Shirou as he rose to his feet once more and ran.

He had gotten back up from each stumble he made with broken determination.

After each time he fell, he had stayed running longer. After three more falls he was running without stumbling, but there was still a sense of imbalance left behind.

His body ached slightly but it was not as painful as before.

With vigor, he turned a corner to something eye-catching.

He had found a young woman running towards him with fear and worry stricken in her eyes, but from behind her was what truly caught Shirou's attention.

He looked like a classic delinquent wearing chains and everything around

his wrists. A nasty sneer along with a gold necklace to boot.

He would've passed as a civilian in Shirou's book if it were not for one thing…

… The man had a scorpion tail. An extra appendage that moved and swayed on its own.

The woman ran past and hid behind Shirou, unaware that she was using a child as a meat shield due to her fear and distress.

Shirou activated a circuit in order to utilize his magecraft but struggled to do so. Shirou did not have time to think of why he could not access his circuits and instead cannibalized a nerve, something Rin would no doubt scold him for.

The person before him was definitely human… but that appendage attached to his back…

Was he subjected to surgical alterations?

Shirou ruled that possibility out of his mind rather quickly. The tail was in no way a foreign entity, but was in fact apart of him, as much as an arm belonged to Shirou. Even an idiot could tell from the way it moved around naturally.

If it was natural… then what was he?

"Kid. step aside," The strange man said. "I got business with that woman over there!"

Shirou stood his ground.

"I can't do that… Sir," Shirou stumbled a bit, unsure on what to call the being in front of him, "What business do you have with her?"

The creature snorted and stood straighter, "That woman owes me money. Despite me telling her over and over again that her final date was today."

"That's a lie!" Shouted the woman from behind him, "I already paid you back!"

The man let out a minor chuckle, "That wasn't enough woman! You were missing several thousand!"

The woman widened her eyes, in what seems to be, blatant shock, "B-But, you said a hundred!"

"I meant a hundred thousand. woman! Now cough over the dough, I know you have it in your bag over there."

Shirou stepped between the two, "If the two of you could please calm down, we could get this sorted out with the proper authorities-"

Shirou was cut short, his minor instincts caused him to swerve to the side as the man's scorpion tail sailed pass him… and towards the cowering woman behind him, whose eyes widened in horror.

Something snapped into place within Shirou's mind as he wrapped his arms around the soaring tail, and was dragged from where he stood for some time before stopping it from reaching its mark.

Shirou glared at the creature before him.

"I do believe that was unnecessary, sir."

The creature sucked his teeth in annoyance and swerved his body, dragging his tail and Shirou, and slamming him into a wall.

Shirou grunted in minor pain as he thanked his subconscious need to reinforce himself before every single conflict.

The tail was pulled from his grasp as the creature ran at the woman, tail ready to spear through her and leave a corpse in his wake.

"Trace on!"

An odd random shout called both their attentions alongside the sound of footsteps.

The creature raised his tail to block whatever the kid was doing, but widened his eyes and sidestepped in the nick of time as a white sword flew pass by him.

The creature glared. but that was what Shirou had wanted. He had the man's full attention as he backed up slowly to create space.

The woman sensed the growing tension between the two and moved away for her young rescuer to stand in between her and the man.

"Where did that sword come from?" The man asked with narrowed eyes, "It wasn't anywhere on you before."

Shirou remained silent as he held Bakuya within his palm, mentally cursing himself for not having enough prana to trace it's companion sword Kanshou.

At first, he attempted to once more access his magical circuits, but they would not respond whatsoever.

Thus Shirou came to a conclusion, it would seem that his magic circuits had reverted to when he had not unlocked them, so he had to cannibalize another nerve in order to use his magecraft.

The faulty sword was barely holding itself together which frustrated Shirou greatly. His circuits were not in prime condition alongside the facts that his rushed trace of Bakuya would shatter after a single use.

Magic circuits existed within the soul, meaning that he should still have full access to his circuits. However that was not the case, not only did his body revert three years younger, his soul had as well, despite the fact that he kept his memories.

Does that debunk the theory that memories resided within the soul?

More importantly, Shirou glanced at Bakuya, frowning in confusion.

Why hadn't Gaia's influence done something about it?

Now that he truly thought about it, he had barely felt Gaia's authority being pressed upon his traced falchion.

Actually, his sword should have reverted back to Prana by now.

Shirou bit his cheek to remove unneeded thoughts, the only thing he should be thinking about now was the enemy before him, and how he would defeat him.

Despite the fact that he had traced a noble phantasm, he was not completely confident in his victory.

While the enemy before him was not a servant, he did have the advantage of an extra limb… Add that to the fact that Shirou has barely any access to his Unlimited Blade Works, child body and magic circuits state…

… Shirou, in all the possible meanings of the word. was in deep shit.

The man sucked his teeth in annoyance, "Of course you wouldn't tell me your quirk during a fight…"

 _Quirk?_

Before Shirou could ask what that was, the man spoke, "You don't have to do this kid. walk away and I'll be taking my cash."

"I can't do that," Shirou replied.

The man glared. confusion filling his eyes, "Why? What do you get out of this? Are you trying to be a hero?"

Somehow Shirou felt that those words meant something different to what he had in his mind but paid no heed to it.

"Do I need a reason to help someone in need?" Shirou asked back, shocking both the man and the woman behind him greatly.

The man's lips curled into a small smile, "I shouldn't have even asked."

He widened his stance and raised his tail above his shoulder, "Before I lynch you kid. my name is Yarikaze Sasori. What's your name?"

Shirou paused for a moment before answering. "Emiya Shirou,"

Sasori nodded. and in what felt like minutes, bolted forward in surprising speed that he did not show before.

His speed was inhuman, fast enough that one had to strain his focus to keep track of him...

But he was not a servant

Within this next exchange, it would undoubtedly determine the victor. Sasori intended to end the fight right then and there, but Shirou would not let that happen.

He raised Bakuya at an angle before him and held his stance.

Sasori had no doubt predicted this and weaved his tail to strike Shirou at his side, a smile drawing on his face once he saw barely any reaction from Shirou, who was now about to have his neck speared thoroughly.

But that was his first mistake

That smile faded away quickly once he saw the blade move faster than thought possible for a child of his stature and parried his tail to his side, where it crashed into the pavement allowing dust to envelop them.

Sasori growled in frustration and attempted to leap away for vision, but shouted in pain as he felt something stab his tail.

Sasori widened his eyes once he realized that the brat unexpectedly stabbed his falchion into his tail and crucified it to the ground.

Due to the pain, Sasori had hesitated and attempted to kick the boy away from his bleeding tail.

That was his second mistake.

Shirou batted aside the weak and impromptu kick, which was far slower than Rider's stiletto from the grail war, and threw a tightened fist at Sasori's unguarded liver.

Sasori gagged in pain and fell, his only leg maintaining his balance weakening. He tried to maneuver away from the brat before him.

But It did not work as before he could have even moved to evade, the brat was already completing his next action.

During the same stride Shirou had taken to nail him on his side, he had also stepped towards him, using his other leg to swerve around him with an elbow raised.

The last thing Sasori remembered in that alleyway was the feeling of a child's elbow crashing into his defenseless visage…

… and that his elbow had felt like iron.

Shirou rubbed his sore elbow, which he found strange but he just chalked it up to his child body straining itself. He could already feel the muscles cry and rage at his reckless nature.

Not that it was going to ever stop him though.

He turned to the woman whom he had technically saved and found her staring uneasily at the stabbed scorpion tail on the cement.

"Are you alright?" Asked Shirou,

To which the woman, whose eyes that were previously filled with vague hope, were now filled with endless confusion.

"Who are you?"

Before Shirou could answer, he was wrapped in bandages as a person had sneaked up on him from behind.

He turned to look at ragged goggles covering an equally ragged man, "This boy, ma'am, is under arrest for charges of vigilantism and excessive violence ."

When purple smoke enveloped Shirou's senses, he plummeted into a deep slumber.

Aizawa Shouta, or otherwise known as Eraser-head. sighed as he turned to Kayama Nemuri, or Midnight, in annoyance.

"Did you really have to use your quirk here? I had him securely detained."

Midnight pouted.

"Of course I had to! You were going to probably drag him to the nearest police station like that weren't you?"

Aizawa's silence told her everything.

"He's still just a kid. Aizawa. He may not know right from wrong." Midnight reasoned.

Aizawa nodded and sighed.

"He still broke the law and must atone with the corresponding consequences." Aizawa turned to the lady. "Junoichi Masai, correct?"

The lady, now identified as Masai, nodded.

"Y-Yes, that is correct"

She was undoubtedly nervous, seeing as her savior had just been detained. despite the sound reasoning given.

"Your money will be returned to you once it is located along with compensation as an apology from the Pro Hero's delay in response," Aizawa stated respectably. "The Pro Hero could not fit into the alleyway and be reliable enough to stop the villain you ran into. Due to this reason, she had to call for back-up."

After that, Aizawa simply lifted the boy onto his shoulders, carrying him with surprising ease considering his lithe form. "Pro Hero Midnight will take care of any questions you may have, good day."

And with that Aizawa walked away, with Junoichi's strange savior alongside him.

* * *

Shirou awoke.

It took a while for Shirou to gather his bearings. However, once that was done he noticed two things.

One, his wounds were treated.

The cuts and stab wounds he had received from Gilgamesh were disinfected and wrapped in bandages.

Two, he was in a jail cell and he had no answer as to why. Heck, Shirou could barely, or rather couldn't, even fathom a reason why.

He got up from his back and sat on the bed he rested upon. Slowly he began to remember the events that had transpired.

The battle with Gilgamesh.

The Holy Grail's Wormhole.

Waking up in an alleyway.

Saving a woman from a humanoid scorpion creature.

Upon recalling his recent bout, he mentally cursed himself. Why had he used his magic out in the open? In the view of two civilians of all people?

Maybe the scorpion thing didn't count, it was clearly unnatural.

Did he need to go back and erase her memories? Could he even escape his prison without alerting the local authorities? What wrongdoings did he do that landed him in this cell in the first place?

Wait, did he even know how to erase someone's memories?

"I see you're awake."

Shirou widened his eyes in surprise as he noticed someone near the jail cell bars.

How had he not noticed him? Had he been lost in his thoughts yet again?

He definitely did not have this problem before, was it a side effect of his child body? He did find himself lost in thought quite a bit during his younger years.

"Get up, we're moving you."

Shirou blinked and took in the person in front of him. He wore black overalls what appears to be a bundle of bandages loosely wrapped around his neck.

Upon seeing those bandages he came to a conclusion.

"You were the one who knocked me out," Shirou stated.

"Wrong," He replied swiftly. "I merely restrained you. You may thank my colleague for knocking you out. Now hurry up kid and follow me."

Seeing no reason to argue, Shirou nodded and followed.

After a few minutes, Shirou found himself in front of a relatively bland room with a few metal chairs and a large metal table.

An interrogation room.

Shirou took a seat across the man who brought him without much hassle.

"Thank you, Aizawa,"

A new person made himself known. He wore the standard Japanese detective outfit.

The man who brought him, his name presumably being Aizawa, nodded and left the room, allowing the newest person to take a seat across Shirou.

"Greetings young man," The man greeted. "My name is Tsukauchi Naomasa and I am the lead detective of the Musutafu police force."

 _Musutafu?_

Shirou did not recognize that name, was it a recently built city?

"I have a few questions for you, I hope you do not mind."

After Shirou nodded. Tsukauchi took out a script from within his coat.

"Then let us start with a simple one," Tsukauchi said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Emiya Shirou,"

Tsukauchi nodded. ticking off a question from the list, "How old are you?"

"Fourteen…"

…Going by his current body's age that is…

Tsukauchi nodded once more, "… and what were you doing in that alleyway?"

"I do not know, I woke up there."

Tsukauchi raised his eyebrow, "You simple woke up there? Do you have any memories of how you found yourself there?"

 _Yes_ _._

"No," he lied.

They wouldn't believe him anyway, what kind of madman would believe that he went through some portal created by an omnipotent wish granting device?

Tsukauchi, however, noticed his lie. "Emiya-san, please answer the question."

Shirou racked his brain for an answer that he could give but ultimately came up clueless.

Apparently, his mental struggle was noticed once more.

"Is it something you cannot talk about?" Tsukauchi asked.

Shirou nodded. cursing his child form's poker face, or lack thereof.

Tsukauchi sighed.

"Is there a reason as to why you cannot?"

"It's… something I'd rather not talk about." Shirou said.

There was no way he was gonna get in trouble with the Mage's association by revealing anything of magical origin to civilians.

Tsukauchi rubbed his chin in thought.

"Was it a painful memory?"

Shirou twitched ever so slightly as he felt a chance arise.

If outright lying did not work then he needed to be more secretive by redirecting the truth to something else. In other words, let the officer in front of him draw a connection by himself.

Tsukauchi noticed the recognition in Shirou's eyes for an entirely different reason.

 _Thank the little things in life_ _._

"I won't pry further into it for today, but since most of the other questions require your answer I'll skip them."

Shirou nodded.

"We've brought you in for charges of vigilantism and excessive violence," Tsukauchi said. "If you were an adult you would be subjected to around 18 months in jail with a shortened sentence with good behavior…"

 _Vigilantism?_

"…However," Tsukauchi continued. "Since you're just a kid. a minor, we can probably let you out right now with, probation of course."

Shirou nodded slowly.

"I'm sure you just wanted to help that woman didn't you?" Tsukauchi asked. a small smile forming on his face.

This time Shirou nodded without hesitation, "I can't let someone in front of me get hurt without doing something."

Tsukauchi sighed softly at this, "I see."

A knock resonated from the door,

"Hello? I'm here to see the kid!"

 _A woman?_

Tsukauchi opened the door swiftly, allowing a woman to enter the room…

Is that spandex?

The woman before them was without a doubt something Rin would call, a blonde bombshell. However, she did wear a purple mask that added false horns to her head alongside a purple and cream colored spandex.

All in all, she looked like a cosplayer who liked American superheroes.

"Welcome!" Tsukauchi introduced. "Allow me to introduce her to you Emiya-san, this is-"

"No need!" She interrupted cheerfully, ignoring the annoyed look being given by the officer, "I can introduce myself!"

She walked around the table and was right next to Shirou.

"Hello! My name is Mount Lady, a Pro Hero!"

Shirou had to take a moment to register what she said.

 _Pro Hero?_

Despite the fact that he wanted to ask what a 'Pro Hero' was, he remained quiet.

"She will be the one to keep you on probation," Tsukauchi added swiftly.

She held a hand out in greeting, "Nice to meet you, kid!"

Shirou shook her hand briefly,

She was bigger than Sakura

Shirou blinked. That thought was out of place… really out of place. Goddamnit, was his body regressed to the point that his young teenage hormones had returned? He thought he had gotten over that phase!

"I'm sorry to ask this of you Mount Lady," Tsukauchi said. "But since we have not finished interrogation, could you wait patiently outside?"

She nodded professionally and left the room, allowing Tsukauchi to resume.

"I'm sure you are curious as to why a Hero is here, but I'll explain it to you later."

Yet again Shirou heard the word Hero, but only now did he realize what it truly meant. No, he already knew what a hero was, but the way both the humanoid scorpion and this police officer used it…

That was not the only confirmation, the lady that also appeared called herself a 'Pro Hero'…

There was… one conclusion he could draw up.

This was not his world. it was a world where Heroes existed as a profession with payment and recognition.

Maybe he really was a kid again if he seriously considered that conclusion.

The mere thought of such a thing admittedly made Shirou feel… odd. It was as if something was welling up from within him but he couldn't tell what it was?

Tsukauchi cleared his throat, dragging Shirou from his thoughts.

"Where are your parents? We tried ID'ing you earlier but you had no possessions on you."

Shirou, blunt as ever, answered.

"My birth parents probably died in a fire."

By the time the words left his mouth Shirou cursed the habits of his younger body. It was mostly on reflex as the grown-ups around him asked that question frequently when he was younger.

Tsukauchi widened his eyes dramatically and spluttered. caught off guard from the answer.

"Wha-!" Tsukauchi nearly shouted out, but restrained himself, "What do you mean by probably? How long ago was this?"

He took out a notepad and flipping through it to find a blank page.

 _Was he going to note down details?_

Shirou thought about his answer for a long while and decided to go with his bodily age's answer.

"Eight years," He answered. while admittedly this lie would have gone noticed. but the slight panic on the man despite his attempt at remaining professional made him ignore it.

 _Was he stressing himself?_

"What do you mean by 'probably'?"

"I do not have memories from before the fire."

"I see… Trauma locked those memories away I assume…" He concluded pen at the ready. "Was there anyone afterward who took care of you?"

"I did have a foster father who adopted me…" Shirou replied.

Tsukauchi nodded pleased that there was someone who he could contact-

"…But he died when I was twelve." Shirou continued. to which Tsukauchi promptly used his pen to swiftly scratch out something he had written.

Tsukauchi sighed quickly and deeply, "Alright then… Do you have any legal guardian?"

"Yes," Shirou said. but Tsukauchi had his pen hovering over his notepad motionlessly, "However I cannot contact her at the present moment."

"Why?" Tsukauchi asked swiftly,

"She is not with us."

Inwardly Tsukauchi cried in frustration… Outwardly Tsukauchi dropped his head onto the table with a noticeable thud.

"Are you okay, sir?" Shirou asked.

Tsukauchi raised his head and nodded ever so slightly, a sad and forlorn expression taking shape.

"Any relatives?"

"None that I can remember."

Tsukauchi sighed. "Well... since you do not have a caretaker that we can discuss this with, I guess I'll just let you go with Mount Lady…"

Inwardly Tsukauchi wished that the protocols had something to deal with this.

"That's fine," Shirou said.

"My time seems to be up, you may entertain yourself with the TV over there," He said pointing to his left, "The remote is on top of the TV, don't die of boredom okay?"

Boredom is one of the things that won't kill Shirou, Archer can attest to that.

Tsukauchi left the room with a tip of his fedora.

Shirou stood and grabbed the remote, turning it on to see the news channel.

"Today on the twelve o'clock news! All Might, the number one Pro Hero…"

* * *

From the other side of the one-way glass that was standard within all interrogation rooms, Aizawa rubbed his irritated eyes with an irritated expression.

The situation had gotten complicated.

Tsukauchi entered the room with Mount Lady, Takeyama Yu, in tow.

"It seems we have had a problem, woof." Someone said from behind him.

Aizawa turned to face the main police chief of Musutafu, Tsuragamae Kenji, a man with a quirk that gives him a simple dog head with barely any benefits.

He had some enhanced smell and instincts but that was it. Helpful in investigative works or tracking, but not for Hero work.

"I'm sorry, chief," Tsukauchi said. "I was not able to draw out more information from Emiya-san,"

Mostly because you got flustered. thought Aizawa.

"That is fine," Kenji said. "While we were not able to get many direct statements, we can use his reactions as a base for our answers, woof."

"I suppose that is true, chief."

With a nod of finality, Kenji turned to face everyone else in the room but grew curious once he looked around. "Where is Midnight?"

"She could not make it," said Yu, "She mentioned that she needed to prepare her class plans in UA. Don't worry, Midnight told me everything that Junoichi Masai told her!"

Kenji nodded. "While regrettable she could not be here, I suppose it is understandable. For now, let us compile what we know, woof."

"Before that," Yu interrupted. "Can I ask just one thing? Why am I overseeing the boy again? Can't you get someone from social services to do that?"

"We have to take into account the possibility that the brat might slip away unnoticed," Aizawa answered. "A standard social services worker will be helpless if the brat decides that he doesn't want to be kept on surveillance."

"Would the kid actually want to harm anyone though?" Yu asked. "He didn't seem like the type,"

"Looks can be deceiving," Aizawa said. "Also this is good for you, Mount Lady. You might learn something from this."

Yu sighed but nodded. "Alright, I guess I can see your point,"

Exactly where she would use what she learned from taking care of a kid. she would never know.

"If you two are finished. we can move on now," Kenji coughed as he took out a notepad with some writing already present. "Emiya Shirou, age fourteen, no available guardians for contact, woof. Arrested on charges of vigilantism and excessive violence, injuring the Villain via a stab wound. woof."

A few people frowned at the mere mention of 'stabbing'. Without a doubt, a civilian should not have been capable of, even at a young age. They would naturally have an aversion to such acts.

No civilian would readily stab someone, they would still have hesitation.

Not to mention the overall damage that the Villain sustained…

Yu spoke up, "Perhaps he was misguided? He has no living relatives that we are aware of, he could have fallen in with the wrong group of people while trying to survive?"

"Plausible," said Kenji, "However the problem is how to handle him, woof."

Everyone in the room nodded at that.

"We have no idea as to where his origins are, nor do we have an idea what he was doing in that alleyway, woof."

 _A mystery_ _._

That was what the boy was, Yu thought, yet another reason as to why she was given temporary custody she supposed.

"He could have been threatened into secrecy," Aizawa spoke up this time, "It is possible that whilst he was trying to survive alone that he made deals with the wrong sort of people."

Tsukauchi nodded. "That would explain quite a bit, but if that were true then why was he in that alley in the first place?"

"It is possible that they were attempting to dispose of him," Answered Aizawa, a frown worn on his face.

Kenji deeply frowned. "If that were true, then we have an amnesiac orphan with a villain possibly after him, woof. This certainly bumps up the difficulty doesn't it, Detective Naomasa?"

Tsukauchi nodded. "I suppose that we need you to keep an eye on both Emiya-san and on any possible Villains targeting him, Mount Lady."

She sighed lightly, "This will certainly limit my Hero work, but I suppose it cannot be helped. However, with my quirk, it would be next to impossible to protect him in narrow spaces."

"Do not worry," Kenji said. "We will assign another Pro Hero to work alongside you. Whilst you handle him directly, another Hero will stick to the shadows, woof."

Yu rose an eyebrow. "And who will this mysterious hero be?"

"I have a few in mind but the Ideal Hero would be Ragdoll, from the Hero team the… Pussycats, woof." Kenji answered. albeit with minor irritation.

The distaste was evident.

Tsukauchi let out a small intrigued smile. "Throwing away your distaste for the Pussycats? This is certainly a surprise!"

"It's only for this one job Detective Naomasa, as much as we dislike each other, this is admittedly important. The young boy's life is in question." Kenji answered.

Yu walked up to Aizawa, "What's up with the Chief and the Pussycats?"

Aizawa sighed. "It's childish, it's merely a quarrel between cats and a dog."

Yu held in her laughter, "I see,"

Kenji cleared his throat. "In any case, we have his surveillance worked out. The next issue would be…"

"… Where will he go afterward," Aizawa said. "Isn't that right?"

Kenji nodded. "No relatives, no guardian to call in, and no similar family name in Musutafu. Truly a troublesome situation."

"We could have his blood checked and ran through the database to find some kind of match?" Yu suggested.

"A brilliant idea, take him to the hospital once he is allowed to leave," Kenji ordered. "With luck, we can reunite a broken family."

"… And if there is no match…?" Aizawa asked wearily.

While Yu did send him a minor glare for his negative outlook, she could not deny the possibility and remained silent.

"If that is the case then we shall place him in a local orphanage." Kenji said with finality, "The next part would be what to do with his current mentality…"

"The excessive violence that he had wrought on to the Villain," Aizawa stated.

"Correct," Kenji said. "We cannot let a talented youth fall into a path of Villainy."

"But he did all that to save that woman right?" Yu retorted. "This does not mean he would become a villain, his heart was in the right place."

"The end does not justify the means," Kenji said. "You could end a war but in the process have ended an entire country alongside its people."

Yu could not retort that claim and sigh. "So therapy? Or something more?"

"We will have him undergo weekly meetings with psychologists in order to rectify his way of thinking," Kenji said. "We cannot have this happen again. Children at his age need to be thinking of their education, not utilizing their quirks for vigilantism."

They had enough reports about teenagers going off and getting themselves killed for idealistic heroism.

"That reminds me!" Tsukauchi exclaimed. planting a palm on his face slightly, "I forgot to ask about his quirk!"

To be fair to him though, everyone else seemed to forget after hearing his thrice-orphaned status.

"It seemed to be a type of emitter quirk," Yu stated. "From Midnight's earlier report, she said that the woman claimed that he created a white sword out of thin air."

"So sword creation?" Aizawa stated. "The sword he created was clearly very detailed based on the report and strong enough to parry the tail, which if I may add. can break through concrete."

"That brings up another question," Kenji said. "From the footage of the nearby Security camera, we can safely say his skill in swordplay did not seem to be at the level of a beginner, woof."

"If he has had his quirk for ten years then he may have taken up sword training," Tsukauchi added.

"That is a definite possibility," Aizawa stated. "But who trained him? Are there any known Kenjutsu dojos still in Musutafu?"

"No, woof," Kenji answered. "While there are still Martial art's dojos, the way of the sword is admittedly lost nowadays."

"What if his quirk gave him basic swordplay knowledge?" Yu asked.

"A small possibility that cannot be discounted. but ultimately unlikely," Aizawa stated. "Information, talent, skill, and knowledge must be created from a base. What you are suggesting is that his quirk would give him all those skills from nowhere."

"Sir Nighteye's quirk creates knowledge of the future from nowhere though," Yu retorted.

"His quirk follows the same rules, his quirk draws information the passage of time, something which many argue is predetermined," Aizawa said. "For the swordplay knowledge to manifest within him, he would need to require to draw the information from somewhere."

Aizawa scoffed slightly, "If he could draw knowledge of how to use swords from swords, then that might be a possibility. However, it is terribly unlikely."

Kenji coughed. grabbing the attention of the discussing Heroes, "While the discussion of his quirk is interesting, we could simply ask the boy later."

The Pro Heroes nodded.

"If there is no more on our agenda, then this meeting is adjourned," Kenji said. "Now if you'll excuse me… I need to call a cat."

With no one speaking up, Kenji left the room with Tsukauchi in tow.

"Make sure you don't let that kid get into any more trouble," Aizawa said as he too left the room.

Seeing she was by herself within the room, Takeyama Yu sighed. "What have I gotten myself into…"

Sometimes she wished that she could freely morph her size. If she could then that Villain would have never escaped.

Granted. his escape from her was only attributed to the fact that the woman panicked and ran into a narrow alleyway but that was no excuse for her…

Once more she sighed.

 _What kind of Pro Hero was she if she could not save a single woman?_

* * *

 **A/N:** **Edited once more due to some timeline errors as pointed out by MathiasNightLord01**

 **A/N 2:** **Edited yet again to add clarity as to why Yu was chosen to oversee Shirou instead of an unnamed Social Services Worker, thanks have to be given to Zentari2238 for pointing this out, and thanks to BrawlBroMario for helping out.**

 **A/N 3: Re-edited the entire chapter to be MORE in line with my current writing style (kinda)… and to get rid of Shirou using 'Structural Analysis' on a living being to a biological level. Yeah, even I don't know what drug I was on here.**


	3. Chapter 2 - Calm before the Sword

**Chapter 2**

* * *

" … _and that concludes the interview with interview with number one Pro Hero All Might! Next we move onto our reporter on the field…_ "

Shirou knew it, he saw the signs and drew the right conclusions, but that didn't mean he would be prepared for how different this world would be.

It explained why he had barely felt Gaia's presence.

City names have changed, minor geographical alterations, and to top it off the evolution of man as a species.

Quirks, a mutation that occurred within the human genome a few centuries ago, granting the ordinary citizen abilities that they could only dream of, and with it came the rise of Heroes.

The only way to not ostracize quirk users would have to have been thanks to the early idealistic heroes, who gave the world a worthy first impression.

If the world's first renowned quirk users happened to be Villains, then this society would not have occurred.

 _That scorpion man from before… Sasori._

He was an example of a quirk user who went down the wrong path. While he did seem to be a tad bit noble in asking for his name, the reason for it is askew.

He definitely was panicking and rushed. He needed that woman's money but specifically for what?

Shirou decided to ignore that thought process for now and directed his thoughts to this new found world. If Shirou was a lesser man he would have been overwhelmed, but…

 _After facing a self reviving demigod, a version of myself from the future, and a golden king… this much does not faze me_

If only Rin could see where he was now, she probably would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

Shirou stared at his palm. If he was going to strive for his dream in this world, he would need to somehow pass his magic off as a quirk, which sounded simple at first until he thought of all his magical abilities.

 _It's too diverse…_

He could create swords, lances, and other weapons that existed within Unlimited Blade Works. He could reinforce objects to excel in its properties alongside his body to allow for minor super strength and agility.

But the most important thing of note would be…

Noble Phantasms…

The crystallization of the Heroic Legends recorded within the Throne of Heroes, overwhelming in power and versatile in ability.

Much like Archer was admittedly.

A spear that would always hit the heart has no place in a world where lives came first. An arrow that could destroy mountains, too dangerous to utilize near civilians, also not to mention the excessive violence policy people seem to have in this world.

He could not simply claim that he had multiple quirks.

At his present bodily condition, however, he could not trace them properly. It honestly annoyed him, having unlocked his magic circuits thanks to Rin only to have it taken away.

He needed a way to reawaken his magical circuits, but with a world where magic may not exist… How could he?

In the first place, did he even want to stay in this world? Rin and Saber were probably still waiting for him to return from his fight with Gilgamesh.

But how could return in the first place?

With each passing thought, Shirou grew more frustrated at his bodily change. He knew for a fact that his reduction of age was nothing short of a miracle, and the only thing that could grant miracles was…

 _The Holy Grail_

The mere thought of the object made him weary. It was the source of suffering for numerous people and also the reason why he was here in the first place.

But why did it make him younger?

All in all the grail confused him, but at the present moment, he needed to deal with the current situation on hand.

He had been arrested for vigilantism and excessive violence.

While it definitely makes sense that vigilantism would be illegal in a society rampant with Heroes, but excessive violence?

All he had done was simply stab the tail into the ground and opt for a swift take down. While stabbing did seem to be overkill from an outside perspective, he had no choice.

It was either that or the woman would have died.

Could he claim self-defense? Actually now that he thought about it, the detective didn't really ask him about it.

Was he too flustered to ask?

In any case, he needed to-

"Get up kid," Aizawa said, entering the door, "You're leaving with Mount Lady. She will be the one tasked with keeping an eye on you."

Blunt and straight to the point, Shirou could respect that.

He nodded and followed Aizawa as he went outside.

Once he was standing in the hall, he recognized Mount Lady, who gave him a friendly wave, and Detective Tsukauchi, who gave him a slightly awkward smile.

Also…

 _Is that a dog?_

While Shirou did know that quirks could heavily alter one's body, it was still a shock to see.

"Emiya Shirou, right?" the dog said, "My name is Tsuragamae Kenji, the chief of the Musutafu Police Force."

So the city he was in was called Musutafu…

"Due to the fact that you are a minor, we are letting you go, _woof_ ," Kenji said,

 _Woof?_

"However since you have no readily available guardians, you will be kept on watch. To ensure that you do not wind up in such a situation again."

Shirou nodded but raised his hand, "I have a question."

"What is it, _woof_?"

"Why was I arrested for excessive violence?"

Kenji raised his brow, "You mean you didn't know?"

"Know what, sir?"

Kenji glanced at Tsukauchi, who was definitely whistling to himself in an attempt to not look suspicious.

Kenji sighed, "The Villain you dealt with from before came back with severe head trauma. His skull was fractured in a few areas and his jaw was broken, _woof_."

Shirou widened his eyes. How could that have happened? He had only just elbowed the…

 _Reinforcement_

Shirou fought back the urge to face palm. While it was true he needed to reinforce his child like body to withstand a blow, he had forgotten that it also enhanced his body's natural strength.

He was not fighting a servant, a being who's ability was at least over ten times greater than an average human. He had fought a human, admittedly a human with an extra appendage, but a human ever the same.

It seemed that Kenji noticed his surprise, "So it was a mistake then, _woof_?" He muttered.

He rubbed his chin in thought before sighing, "It seems that we have made a minor mistake. While you will still be on probation with Mount Lady, it will be reduced to a single week instead of the original month we had in mind."

Shirou nodded slowly, he could deal with that. However, the problem afterward would be…

"Now, onto the topic of your guardianship." Kenji said, cutting off Shirou's thoughts, "Since you lack one we will have to assign you to an orphanage to be adopted once your probation period has ended."

Shirou frowned at that thought but ultimately nodded.

"Do you have any further questions?"

"Is the lady that I saved okay?" Shirou asked,

Kenji nodded, "She is fine, Junoichi Masai has been left unharmed and has been properly been compensated,"

"Compensated?"

"It was our fault that you ended up meeting that Villain. While we could have handled that situation better…" Kenji said glancing at Aizawa, who looked like he did not care, "… We could only provide her monetary compensation, as standard when Heroes are in the situation, _woof_. Anything else?"

"Is Sasori okay?" Shirou asked, surprising a few of them.

Aizawa gave a small intrigued smile, "Hmmm… You are worried for the well being of the villain that tried to kill you?"

"While he did try to kill me… I still injured him more so than I wished." Shirou said,

Kenji nodded, "He is undergoing emergency surgery but is expected to survive. Do not worry, you have not killed anyone, _woof_."

Shirou nodded, although could not help the cynical snicker that appeared in his mind.

 _I've already seen death…_

This luckily went unnoticed as both Tsukauchi and Kenji were in a slight argument.

Actually, scratch that, Kenji seemed to be scolding Tsukauchi for not asking the questions and getting flustered.

To be fair, it wasn't his fault. Most people would lose their composure upon meeting a… thrice-orphaned child.

Shirou let out a minor sigh, which Mount Lady caught onto and moved to stand by him,

"Hello~," She greeted, "I forgot to tell you earlier, but my real name is Takeyama Yu,"

Shirou raised an eyebrow, "Is it alright for you to be saying what your real name is? Isn't that a secret?"

She laughed a bit, "If this were decades ago maybe, but secret identities aren't much of a thing nowadays."

Shirou nodded after berating himself. After all, the news channel did mention a few of the Heroes actual names.

Aizawa stepped up to Shirou, who could not help but be weary, "What is your quirk? Is it sword creation?"

Shirou frowned, the question had come.

 _Let's see which off my abilities I can pass off as my quirk…_

"Yes, but I can make other bladed weapons as well," Shirou said,

Aizawa nodded,

"A dangerous quirk, but no more dangerous than Mount Lady's or All Might's." He said, "Yet you seem to be more experienced in the art of the sword…"

"I was trained," Shirou said,

Aizawa narrowed his eyes "By who?"

Shirou thought it over a bit and answered, "A cynical asshole."

Aizawa widened his eyes and gave a mirthful laugh.

"Language!" Yu scolded, to which Shirou apologized.

"And where is this 'cynical asshole'?" Aizawa inquired.

Shirou recalled the moment when he was dragged into the grail. He should have been there alongside Archer and Gilgamesh, but they have remained yet to be seen.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"Hmm... as was expected," Aizawa nodded, seemingly unaffected, "Mount Lady, make sure he doesn't get into any trouble. I need to stop two 'professionals' from being a distraction."

Yu tapped Shirou's shoulder, "That's our queue to leave!"

She walked away from the trio of men alongside Shirou, who could not help but sigh at the slight childish behavior he was seeing from the adults.

Shirou could only confirm one thing from their exchange. If he used his magecraft to do anything other than trace legitimately normal swords with no extra unexplainable abilities…

… Trouble would inevitable.

* * *

It had been an hour after Shirou left alongside Mount Lady – or Takeyama Yu – she immediately stated that their first stop was to the hospital.

Since Shirou had no notable injuries, he originally questioned the notion.

But hearing the reason Yu gave him made him feel uneasy.

" _We are going to check to see if you have any blood relatives in our database."_

He knew that it was necessary, that it was what most people with authority and power would do, but he also knew that it was a fruitless endeavor.

However, the possibility did arise…

What if there was a match?

Such a thought made Shirou frown in unease as they sat in a hospital waiting room,

Yu mistook his unease for nervousness and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Admittedly he felt a tad bit at ease.

That ease was erased once Yu pinched his cheek, apparently gushing about how cute he looked.

The door of the waiting room opened, revealing a nurse. The nurse motioned for them to follow.

Steeling himself, Shirou followed alongside Yu.

He now sat in an office with a short and stubby doctor holding up a tiny syringe for children. "This may hurt a little," He said, his glorious mustache moving as he did.

Shirou nodded and without fear looked on as the syringe drew some blood.

"Aren't you a brave little man? Trying to impress Onee-chan?" Yu teased, "I suppose you would have to be if you jumped to save that woman."

While Shirou's eye did twitch at the Onee-chan comment, he did smile softly at what she said next, "I see."

"A little brave…" She droned on with a very minor frown on her face, " … and a little reckless too."

Still smiling softly, Shirou nodded.

"… I see…"

Once the blood had been taken, Yu and Shirou left the hospital to wait. The blood compatibility check would take almost a week for the computer terminal to check between his blood sample and the data of Japan's populace.

"Well, Shirou-kun~," Yu said, "Since we don't have anything else on our schedule for today… Do you want to do anything?"

Before Shirou could say anything a shout broke his thoughts.

"It's Mount Lady!"

"Wow, it's really her!"

Shirou turned to see numerous people waving at her, to which she happily returned.

"I'm sorry Shirou, we may need to go to a less… populated area to talk. Is that alright?"

Shirou nodded, "That is fine with me-"

"Nothing perverted though okay?~" Yu said as she began to walk down the street, to which Shirou followed irritated.

"So, where do you wanna go?" She said once they were on a relatively empty sidewalk, "Want some Ice cream? I'm sure kid's your age like that, right?"

She leaned closely and whispered, "Or maybe some _certain_ magazines?"

Shirou frowned and shook his head. "No thanks, I just need somewhere to rest that's all."

Yu seemed to frown slightly, "Do you have no drive? Is Onee-chan not attractive enough?" She exclaimed dramatically.

Shirou remained silent, irritated.

"Well, if relaxation is what you want then I suppose we can rest at my place," She said after tapping her cheek in thought.

Soon they came up to a rather standard apartment complex. No doubt the place where Yu lives.

After riding an elevator and turning a few corners, they arrived within her apartment without much hassle.

It was standard, there was not much else to say about it. It had a sofa for relaxation, a table, some extra furniture, but nothing else out of the ordinary.

It felt like a place where one can relax after a hard day's work.

 _A home_

"If you want something to eat, there's some yogurt in the fridge," She said as she went into a random room.

Shirou nodded and took a seat on a couch and began to organize his thoughts.

He needed to unlock his magic circuits, but the possibility of awakening is slim. Perhaps meditation or something similar could achieve this effect?

Onto the matter of his life here, assuming he cannot return, of course, he would need a place to work in order to provide money for himself.

Wait, didn't they say he was going to be put into an orphanage? The mere thought of it brought a frown to his face. He would not throw away the Emiya name, doing so would be an insult to both he and Kiritsugu.

Speaking of his life here, he would need to get thoroughly used to his body. While he did have enough time to get used to actually walking, running and general movement, he did not have all his fighting skills.

During the fight with Sasori, he could have ended the fight much sooner if his reach was longer. He nearly over judged the distance of his stride when he elbowed him.

Shirou had a wince on his face upon remembering the injury he had afflicted upon the man.

It was something that should not have happened… but it did, and it happened because he was careless. He was still within the mind set of the Holy Grail war, where the participants are several times stronger than the average human.

He had thought of Sasori as an enemy Servant… and thus fought accordingly.

Where as he simply intended to knock him out, he instead caused severe harm. It was a mistake he would not make again.

"What a scary look you have on your face, boy," Yu teased from behind him, "You'll scare away some girls like that,"

Shirou lept slightly in surprise and turned to face Yu, without her face mask and instead wearing a mischievous smirk.

"What were you thinking about?"

Shirou frowned softly, "Just… about Sasori, the Villain I hurt,"

"It's true that you went overboard with him," Yu said, "However we can understand _why_ you did it, just not _how_."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that with your size a stature, it should be impossible to generate that kind of force to severely injure a man's skull, enough to fracture it actually."

Shirou bit his cheek and frowned, "I see…"

"While we wont ask questions about your quirk as those are mostly private, circumstances are another matter…" She said, "… but we can hold off on that for today, just relax and smell the roses! Don't think about whatever you were thinking of before."

She reached out and patted Shirou on the head. He felt a tad bit annoyed at the attempt of familiarity, but ultimately did not truly mind it.

It reminded him slightly of a certain tiger.

She drew back her hand and let out a yawn, looking out to the balcony where the sun began to set. "I suppose it's time we hit the hay. You can sleep in the guest room next to mine."

She walked away stretching her arm's out. "Make sure you get some rest okay~!"

Shirou smiled "Okay,"

Perhaps she was right. Maybe he did need to slowdown and relax.

He was simply too used to fighting in the war. Not once did he relax during it, and not once did he just slowdown to 'smell the roses' as it were.

Shirou slowly entered the guest room to take in it's appearance.

Shirou smiled.

It was simple, that was for certain, and it had only a bed with two bedside tables on either side. The bed itself looked like it had been kept the same way for months.

The smile slowly faded away as he patted the blanker, allowing a layer of dust to jump up and cloud the room.

His eye twitched and his irritation grew.

… Definitely reminded him of a certain tiger…

Perhaps the couch would be a better alternative for tonight…

* * *

Takeyama Yu was a good Hero with many high expectations given to her.

She had a worthwhile debut, ignoring the fact that she technically stole the fame from another Hero. She had lots of friends, admittedly they stopped contacting each other once her Hero career began due to being busy and all.

She also had a nice place to live, granted the rent was somewhat high but with her Hero career she could afford it.

However she did not expect that her blankets would fly off her bed with an extremely irritated midget glaring at her first thing in the morning.

"S-Shirou?" She asked, still groggy as she looked at her bedside alarm clock

 _5:15 am!_

She fought back the urge to groan and instead turned to Shirou, "Why did you wake Onee-chan up so early, Shirou-kun?"

Actually now that she took a look at him, he was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, due to her forgetting to provide spare clothes.

 _Not that any of her clothes would fit him actually..._

His eyes appeared sleep deprived, something that stunned her as the guest bedroom was still in pristine condition.

She left the guestroom untouched, so it meant that no dust could possibly get it!

She was promptly dragged out of bed, still in her pajamas, and shoved into the guest bedroom.

She took a glance around but could not see anything wrong, in fact despite the minor crumpling of the bed sheets, it was still untouched…

… That is until she saw Shirou slap a palm onto the guest bed to which an actual hailstorm of dust lept up into the air.

She instantly began coughing and left the room to see her sofa with a blanket lying on top of it.

 _Was that from her laundry?_

Once she had cleared the demonic dust from her face, she stared at Shirou, who was glaring at her back with irritation on his face.

She laughed wearily, "My… bad?"

The irritation faded into mild exasperation as Shirou placed a palm on his head, "It's fine, just clean up your own house once in a while,"

She laughed embarrassed at being told off by a child nearly two thirds her age.

"I'll make it up to you later Shirou-kun, for now let's have breakfa-"

"Your fridge is empty, you have that yogurt from yesterday but that's it." Shirou interrupted.

A bit of sweat formed on her brow, "… Okay, why don't you go take a bath?"

"I don't have extra clothes, so I'll be wearing my still dirty clothes."

… Why did she feel like that Shirou was used to this?

" … Take out?" She suggested weakly, to which Shirou sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"Make sure to stock up on your groceries," He reminded as he walked towards the bathroom, leaving Yu alone in the living room.

A few moments passed by and Yu could literally feel her dignity dying.

* * *

At the present moment Shirou, alongside Yu, sat by a glass window in a fast food joint. Since it was morning, barely anyone had awoken, even the workers seemed to be lethargic.

Yu herself was wearing a normal form fitting track suit alongside reading glasses. She did not truly like dealing with fans early in the morning, even though her debut was only a few days ago.

Although she was not sure it actually hid her identity from the crowd, as some stares were being thrown there way.

On the other hand, Yu could practically feel Shirou's ill concealed distaste for the food that they ordered. He who chewed it annoyed but quickly.

Yu felt the sweat on her brow as she ate her burger at albeit a slower pace.

 _Since when did kids not like fast food?_

"What are we doing for today?" Shirou asked after putting away the vile… _thing_ , away from him.

He only ate it because it was the only thing he could have that would satisfy his stomach. Once the groceries would be bought, he would be making a wonderfully cooked _healthy_ lunch that would make his taste buds orgasm in heaven.

Ah, the wonders of cooking.

As Yu swallowed the last piece of her burger, read as the _spawn of food hell_ , and spoke, "Right now, since your blood test hasn't finished… It's all up to you actually, Shirou-kun."

Shirou nodded slowly and glanced out the window. "I don't know,"

Yu rose a brow, "Why?"

"Musutafu is a nice city, but truthfully I don't know my way around it." Shirou stated, "I would not know the interesting places here…"

 _So he's from out of town?_

"That's true…" She agreed, but then took a look at his attire,

 _His torn and cut rags_. She mentally corrected.

"Actually, maybe you need some new clothes." She stated, glaring at his torn up clothing. Now that she thought about it, maybe they were staring at Shirou's attire and not her?

Shirou glanced at his shirt once, and nodded, "Maybe you're right…"

She quickly paid the bill and left alongside Shirou.

Luckily the fast food joint they entered was within a mall, so they could swiftly head to the nearest clothing store for kids.

As for how they got into the mall without security acknowledging his attire in the first place…

" _Um… We are kind of in a hurry right now…" Takeyama Yu said as she sensually strode towards the police guard._

" _That's hot! Go on ahead!"_

Needless to say, Yu was sure Shirou lost quite a bit of respect for her right there. In her defense, she was tired, lethargic, and too lazy to deal with explanations for the cop.

Once they entered a clothing store called 'Soup', Yu turned to Shirou, "Go ahead and pick some clothes, Shirou-kun."

"Takeyama-san," Shirou said, "You do remember that I don't have any money right now,"

She waved a hand and held up her wallet, "Don't worry about it! Onee-chan has got money to spend!"

Shirou was about to make another argument but ultimately sighed, walking into the store and grabbing some clothes.

Yu followed and took a seat near the changing rooms.

Inwardly, Yu stared long and hard at the strange boy she had been hired to take care of. He was strangely odd for a kid. He dislikes fast food, obviously preferring the healthier alternative.

She was still confused about that.

It took only a few minutes for Shirou to complete his choice, but what he did pick was less than pleasing.

Yu wrinkled her nose in slight distaste, "Are you sure you just want those… things?"

Shirou nodded whilst staring at his pick. A form fitting sweater that was primarily white alongside blue sleeves that reached his wrists.

It was basically a sweater version of his normal attire.

In fact, he had several of them.

"… But they're so…" Yu said, "… Plain."

"It's comfortable," Shirou argued,

"What about that shirt over there?" Yu said, "It's got a smiley face on it?"

"I don't like the smile,"

"Why! It's Cheshire cat!" She exclaimed,

Shirou blinked, "Who?"

Yu stilled herself a few moments, narrowing her eyes in the process, "Alice in wonderland?"

"What's that?" He simply answered.

Yu frowned and then grabbed Shirou, directing his peripheral vision towards a shirt with a ball on it, "What about that?" She pointed out,

Shirou blinked and tried to understand the image he was looking at, "It's a red and white ball…?"

 _Dear lord, he doesn't even know what Pokemon is!_

Yu's eyes were practically twitching by now.

Scratch what she thought earlier, this kid was not _just_ strangely odd, he was _clueless_ as hell.

Exasperated, Yu pointed to the changing room, "Just see if those fit and we'll go."

Shirou was a tad bit confused, but he nodded and moved on anyway.

* * *

Shirou was enjoying this world, to say the least. The people here were generally accepting of heroes, as he could see from the waving at patrolling heroes.

He enjoyed his time with Takeyama-san, she has been a rather hospitable host, despite the fact that her only guest room was a mess of lint and dust.

She was also rather kind, despite the teasing and her sexual innuendos.

Takeyama-san normally had Hero work at this time, but since he was her current job, she could not go out without bringing him along.

Her job was keeping him away from anything Villain related, her Hero work included.

So now they sat in the middle of a park, lost on what to do next.

To be fair it wasn't Yu's fault, it was simply that Shirou was not expressive. The only worldly desire he had was his desire to cook. However, Takeyama-san said that he needed some fresh air, and refused to go back to her apartment.

Suddenly Takeyama snapped her fingers with a panicked expression on her face, "Darn! I nearly forgot something!"

"What is it, Takeyama-san?" Shirou asked,

She turned to Shirou a forlorn expression on her face, "I was supposed to go to a gathering for new heroes! All Might was going to be there too…"

She genuinely looked sad,

Shirou nodded to himself after a few moments of deliberation, "You can go," He said

She stopped panicking and looked at him like he was stupid, "I cant leave you alone no matter what you know, Shirou-kun?"

"That is true…" Shirou said, "… But where you could take me was never restricted."

Yu blinked in surprise, "Now that you mention it they didn't… Wait, how do you know so many big words…?"

"I-I'm very good at studying," Shirou stammered,

It wasn't actually a lie, he had no trouble with his grades even after he spent day after day doing favors for his classmates.

He was called the Homurahara Brownie for a reason.

Should he have felt proud of that or not…?

Yu nodded, believing his answer, "Technically there would be no Villains in a meet and greet of newbie Heroes… I can bring you along!" She exclaimed happily.

Suddenly Shirou was dragged into a hug, "Thanks Shirou!"

He was suffocating.

 _Definitely bigger than Sakura_

"I didn't do anything though, Takeyama-san!" He stammered.

Curse his younger body's hormones and his reactions!

Yu didn't seem to care and began skipping towards her apartment alongside Shirou to change. As Shirou followed her, he let out a small smile.

"… Definitely like Tiger…"

He hoped that no one heard him, however, that hope was crushed once he felt a shiver run down his spine alongside the roar of a certain tiger.

If he every made his way back to his reality, Taiga would beat his sorry ass.

* * *

 _It_ stirred, from within the shadows it arose. _It's_ form shapeless, it's body allowing specks of light to phase through it.

 _It_ had awoken from its long slumber, but where was it?

After it had followed the Grail's will to a separate plane, it lost the trail and fell across the void. _It_ appeared to be within some kind of sewer as the humans call it.

It did not recall why it was here or why it's forms was how it was,

As the being moved through the darkness, it saw a young man, slowly dying from multiple stab wounds.

As the shadow stood above him, the man reached out in pain, "P-Please… W-Wait…" The human cried out…

…No, _the inferior creature_ cried out.

 _It_ ignored it and simply walked by,

"W-Wait! I'll do anything!"

 _It_ stopped.

Anything?

 _It_ turned back to the human and stared.

Curiosity, fleeting interest, and pure stoicism.

 _It_ did not speak, it did not have a mouth for that function, but the intentions it had were conveyed directly into the human's mind.

"E-Everything! As long as I get my r-revenge!"

If _It_ would smile, it would. The sheer negativity radiating from the human was intoxicating.

 _Glee, acceptance, and warning._

The man spat out blood and glared hard, "I don't care what you'll do to me, just let me get b-back at h-him!"

 _It_ stood above the man and dived into him.

The echoes of screams were not heard within the deep passages of the sewers.

 _It_ had a mission now… and _It_ will fulfill it.

* * *

 _Quirk Law on Vigilantism_  
 _-Should the attack be classified as self-defense, vigilantism can be applied with a week of probation if no life-threatening injuries were made and a month of imprisonment if such injuries were found and confirmed to be inflicted by the Vigilante in question. If a Vigilante breaks the probation either through evasion or a repeat case of Vigilantism, the Vigilante is to be imprisoned for two month's time._

 _-Should the Vigilante in question be a minor, ages up to 14, then they can be excused from punishment is discussed with their guardian. All ages 15 and onward are subjected to adult treatment._

 _-Should the Vigilante in question be in possession of an ID for a Hero school, the punishment can be discussed between the lead detective/chief and the school's Principal._

* * *

 **A/N: Fixed a glaring error. Nobody pointed out how I mentioned Quirks appearing _several_ _years_ ago. Frankly, after how many follows and favorites this thing had, I'm astounded. I've fixed it now, so hopefully, errors like it won't show up again. Doubtful, though. I don't have faith in myself most of the time. Thanks to 'Horizon the Cat' for pointing it out. Truly.**

 **Also, looking back at my writing a few years ago... Wow, I changed. If you're just reading, then you won't see it until you start heading into the later chapters. Two years changed my writing style heavily. So yeah, light grammar overhaul with Grammarly was performed.**

 **Two years.**

 **Fuck, I'm old.**


	4. Chapter 3 - A Sword in Silence

**Chapter 3**

* * *

After Yu had retrieved her Hero outfit, she immediately grabbed Shirou, who admittedly felt like he was a piece of paper being dragged, and rushed to the gathering point.

Which was a huge five star hotel.

Somewhere that Rin would have loved to go, admittedly he would have stopped her no matter what if his ears were properly functioning once he heard the price.

Who in their right mind would pay _that_ much for a single night in a hotel?

After turning a few corners, they arrived at a large ballroom.

As to _why_ a Hotel would have a ballroom, Shirou didn't know.

The place was brimming with extravagant lights, waiters to provide you food, and most important of all…

… The Heroes

No matter where Shirou looked, there was a Hero chatting with another Hero. From each corner of the ballroom to even the upper floors which could be seen.

To Shirou, who had dreamed of becoming an ally of justice, a hero, ever since he was a child… This was simply overwhelming.

He knew that this world's society had adopted Heroes in this world and accepted their existence as a necessity due to the equally large amount of villains…

… But there was simply too many Heroes, so many different quirks, so many different abilities that were used to save lives daily.

So many that he felt… Unneeded?

Would becoming an ally of justice in this world _do_ anything? His presence would be just an additional drop of water to the ocean that is this world.

With all these people working to save people… alongside countless more in other countries…

… Could he ever smile like _him_ …?

His thoughts were cut once Yu began dragging him towards a familiar face.

"Aizawa!" Yu called out cheerily, "What are you doing here?"

Aizawa, who had been simply standing beside the punch juice, turned and stared with boredom very evident in his eyes.

Before Yu could get another word out, Aizawa spoke, "Don't call me by my real name when I'm not on duty,"

Yu blinked confused, "Aizawa, you're working right now?"

Aizawa sighed in exasperation nodded, "I'm in charge of security,"

"Security?" Yu questioned with a smile on her face, "In a place with all these Pro Heroes? Do you actually do anything?"

"It may seem like an unnecessary addition, Takeyama-san, but it is a necessity." Aizawa explained, "The Heroes here are busy relaxing and mingling. They wont be able to do for long in our line of work."

Yu nodded, slapping a fist on her palm "I see!"

"In addition, the Heroes here wont be able to notice anything they would normally notice. It's a thankless job but…" Aizawa said, his eyes slowly drifting away from Yu and towards a young man beside her,

His eyes narrowed quickly but subtly enough that Yu didn't notice…

… However Shirou did, having been used to Archer's well concealed glares.

"… Speaking of jobs, Takeyama-san. Why did you bring the brat here?" Aizawa asked, tone sharp, "Actually, why did you come at all? You were supposed to be on probation duty."

His question and tone were well-founded, luckily they had a solid reason on their side.

"Shirou-kun here…" Yu stated without being fazed at Aizawa's tone, ruffling the red mop of hair that was Shirou, " … Opened my eyes! You never said that I wasn't allowed to bring him here! After all there's no way a villain could appear here!"

Aizawa at first, narrowed his eyes in an attempt to intimidate Yu, but sighed and gave up. No doubt seeing no further reason on that pointless endeavor.

"I suppose you're right, as long as he doesn't get into any trouble then that's fine." Aizawa stated, "Actually he should be relatively safer here. Despite having security duty, as you said I don't actually have to do anything other than keeping an eye on all exits."

Shirou rose an eyebrow at that,

 _Safer?_

"Due to fact that All Might is here, right?" Yu asked with a tad mischievous smile,

"That…" Aizawa confirmed, "… and all the Pro Heroes will make sure of this location's security."

 _Security?_

Shirou felt that there was something that they were not telling him, but wisely held his tongue.

If they felt that he had no need to know, then they had no need to tell him.

He was keeping his magecraft secret too after all.

Thankfully none of the two seemed to notice his inner monologue as Yu motioned for him to follow.

The ever present curious stares of the Pro Heroes made Shirou feel sort of awkward.

After all it wasn't every day that you saw a kid follow a Pro Hero around, especially if they weren't blood related as siblings or as parent and child.

No doubt Yu would be asked about this at a later date by her colleagues.

Yu stopped in front of a group of people, one of which stood out to Shirou by the way he reacted to Mount Lady's presence.

"Hello, Kamui-san," Yu greeted with a slight awkward smile on her face, "How have you been?"

Shirou recognized him from the news channel. Pro Hero, Kamui Woods, a talented rising star among the Pro Heroes.

… He was also the Hero whose credit was taken from Yu by her not so heroic debut.

How did Shirou learn of her Debut? Well, the bad mouthing that goes behind Yu's back from Kamui Wood's fan girls told him a lot.

A lot of unnecessary things as well.

Shirou nearly shivered upon remembering the _details_ of their fantasies.

"What are you doing here?" Kamui Woods asked, a tad bit of weariness in his tone as he took a more stiff stance.

He really did not like his credit being taken

Which was understandable to Shirou, within the Pro Hero world, their pay was managed by the government based on performance and overall popularity.

No doubt that Yu's debut took away from some of his revenue.

The Pro Heroes that Kamui Woods was talking to beforehand, sensed the atmosphere between the two and wisely took a step back, remaining as silent as possible.

Truthfully Shirou did the same.

Yu seemed to stumble on what to say and coughed lightly into her hand, "I-I came here to apologize…"

Kamui Woods seemed to have raised an eyebrow, but it was hard to tell due to the fact that his facial features were still covered by that wooden helmet he wore.

"Really?" He asked with minor disbelief,

Yu nodded with her mouth in a thin slit, determined.

"You see, Kamui-san," Yu said, "I don't truly feel proud about what happened back then, and I had hoped that we could put the matter aside,"

"… Put it aside?" Kamui Woods repeated slowly, "Any specific reason for that?"

Yu nodded once more, "We are Pro Heroes, our sole role in society is to save lives. If we cant work together outside jobs, then how can we work together if lives are at stake."

Kamui Woods seemed to be a tad shocked at what she said.

Frankly Shirou was too, this was not what the Takeyama Yu he knew would say.

She would've said that it was annoying.

Kamui Woods seemed to contemplate for a few seconds before nodding to himself and held a hand out to her,

"Despite your nature, I can tell you truly are a Hero at heart." he said with conviction, "I forgive you, we can put that matter aside. We are Pro Heroes, we do not bicker like schoolyard children."

Yu seemed to smile and shook his hand,

However Kamui Woods took a look at Shirou, and immediately stopped the handshake, "Who is this young man?" he asked, legitimately confused.

"Shirou-kun?" Yu asked for confirmation.

When she got a nod from him she motioned for Shirou to stand beside her, which he did.

"This is Emiya Shirou. He's on probation right now for saving a woman. Minor vigilantism and all that."

Shirou was glad that she left out the part of his _excessive_ violence.

"I see…" Kamui nodded, "… young man. Take heed of my advice."

Shirou turned to face Kamui Woods as he knelt on his knees, being eye-to-eye with Shirou,

"You are still too young to take up the burden of being a Hero. Lives are weighed on our shoulders every day, a single mistake can mean the absolute _end_ of their lives."

Shirou nodded, his mind already taking in what he has to say.

"Your future is not yet set in stone, you can be a salary man, a police officer, or even a teacher if you so wished to be…" He said,

"… But, if the title of 'Hero' is what you seek, then make sure you obtain it the right way," Kamui Woods said, "While the Heroes of old were vigilantes, we do not live in that age anymore. Enroll in a Hero school if you still wish for that title."

Shirou nodded, although there was one thing he disagreed with Kamui Woods about…

… His future is _already set in stone_ … He _will_ die alone, atop a _hill of swords_ …

Yu seemed to smile softly, unaware about Shirou's internal thoughts.

"Thank you, Kamui-san," Shirou said, "I'll be sure to take your advice."

After that they had parted ways, allowing Kamui Woods to return to his previous group, who were more than eager to begin teasing him for some odd reason.

Yu motioned Shirou to follow,

"So, you still want to be a Hero?" Yu asked, to which Shirou nodded,

"It's been my dream for as long as I can remember." Shirou said,

Yu smiled with a hint of mischief, "Finally, opening up to Onee-chan aren't you?"

"Maybe," Shirou smiled as well, "I do have a question for you though, Takeyama-san."

"What is it?" She asked, curious.

"Why did you apologize to Kamui-san?" Shirou asked, "While Kamui-san and the others could no see it, honestly you don't seem to be sorry,"

"That's because I wasn't," Yu answered bluntly once they were out of Kamui Woods earshot, "If he kept acting like a wimpy limp wood whenever I was around then the tabloids would draw some really weird conclusions."

 _This woman!_

Shirou fought the urge to sigh heavily at the expected behavior and instead settled for a mental groan.

The sound of a microphone broke their thoughts as they turned to the podium at the end of the ballroom. A lone figure, clad in red, blue, yellow and white hero outfit.

Judging from Yu's eyes widening in admiration, Shirou instantly knew who he was, and he did not doubt that everyone else knew as well.

How could they not? The news channel, talk shows, all the channels that he had viewed within that interrogation room all mentioned him in passing or as the main topic.

 _All Might, the number one Pro Hero_

In honesty, Shirou felt his presence to be somewhat close to Saber's.

"I welcome you! Pro Heroes!" All Might shouted, his vigor and charisma instantly affecting the gathered Heroes as they shouted in glee.

… _He exuded his own charisma, a sense of belonging and righteousness…_

"To everyone here, those who had struggled to become Heroes, I congratulate you!" He shouted, "Your struggles have been worth it! Your efforts were not in vain! You have obtained recognition! You have made other people's lives better by saving them!"

… _He felt like the perfect Hero, a true symbol of peace…_

"You, gathered Heroes, have realized your dreams!" He shouted, however this time everyone cheered.

Even the more quiet Heroes, who kept their mingling to a minimum, had cheered alongside him.

… _He was living proof that being a hero is right, that Archer's ideal was not wrong…_

"… But!" He interrupted, "This is not the end of the road, it is merely another start line!"

Confused silence followed, but Shirou felt like All Might expected this.

All Might continued undeterred and smile ever present, "You are Heroes, people who laughed on the conventional and rose to courageous victory!"

"However," All Might continued, "You are not done yet! Do you feel content? Do you feel the need, the hunger to grow? Your body demands it, and your heart needs it! We are Heroes! We did not settle for the mediocrity to reach where we are today!"

"Keep moving forward! Grit your teeth and clench your butt cheeks! A motto of a Hero is~!" All Might shouted, "~Go further beyond!"

It was like a phenomenon to Shirou as all of the other Heroes around him stood straighter, prouder and inhaled, keeping their lungs filled with air until the moment came…

… and in unison they _bellowed_ , the world around Shirou shook, as if the world itself trembled at the united will of the Heroes before it.

 **"Plus Ultra!"**

If Shirou couldn't see it before, he could certainly see it now.

The man atop the podium was without a doubt the _Number one_ Pro Hero.

He, whose presence shook the foundations of society with a smile.

He was the _Symbol of Peace._

If he existed back in Shirou's world, he would undoubtedly be recorded in the throne of heroes, as an example that all modern Heroes should strive to be.

This was a once in a lifetime speech that new Heroes would have, and Shirou just had a sneak peek.

In a way, Shirou thought it was unfair that he had seen this speech…

… but he could not say that he felt bad about it

… _His ideal was not wrong…_

There wasn't a single thought in his mind that refuted that. This mere glimpse at All Might confirmed it for him…

Emiya Shirou's Ideal was _not_ wrong.

Upon the upper side floors, one person stood next to a pillar, obscuring vision of any who may gaze upon him by chance.

He had a stern frown set upon his face, eyebrows drawing to a close to match his expression.

Sir Nighteye, All Might's former sidekick, and now Pro Hero.

He had green slicked hair with a yellow highlight or two, yellow rimmed glasses, but what was most eye catching was his Hero outfit.

It could barely even be called a Hero outfit, it was simply a silver suit with a polka dot tie.

He could pass off as a regular salary man…

… But, with his Quirk's power, that was something he could not, and would not do.

Foresight, after meeting the conditions for his Quirk to activate, it gave him the ability to view one's future in a third person perspective.

The prediction's that his Quirk gives him are never wrong, each and every single mission he had used it gave out a 100% accuracy without exception.

It was a Quirk undeniably helpful in the process of saving lives…

… It is also the same Quirk that foresaw a future that he wanted to prevent at all costs…

… _All Might's death…_

Unconsciously, Sir Nighteye frowned and gripped the fabric of his suit.

He hated thinking about that particular prediction.

As of this moment he had taken up a young man who he believed would be the perfect inheritor to All Might's Quirk.

One for All, the unique quirk that can be passed on to another, allowing them to have All Might's substantial physical power.

However their body would tear itself apart if they were not ready to handle it's might.

This was why his new apprentice, Togata Mirio, would be undergoing more physical training than what he would normally have in mind.

Mirio's Quirk, Permeation, was already unique in it's own right, having the ability to negate his body's physical tangibility, allowing him to bypass his opponent's defenses and pass through any obstacle without issue.

Yet, despite the perfect candidate, All Might had wounded up grabbing himself his own successor.

Normally Sir Nighteye would be overjoyed at this development…

… However the successor in question was, in one word, pathetic.

He did not see many redeeming aspects, other than the single fact he would recklessly throw himself in front of danger to save a life. Even though the life which he saved had bullied him for years.

It was a heroic quality that could not be thrown away, but it could also be found in Mirio.

So why? Why did All Might choose him?

What made _Midoriya Izuku_ a more worthy candidate in All Might's eyes?

Sir Nighteye did not know and he doubted the possibility he ever will…

… But just because he doubted the chance, does not mean it will not happen.

Sir Nighteye could see All Might walk backstage and talked with the event coordinator before making his way through the back exit.

… _His time limit must be coming up…_

Seeing no further purpose to remain at the party, Sir Nighteye turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks as he noticed a minor oddity.

It was not an impossibility but it was highly improbable that a child would be here, in the company of a rookie Hero of all things…

… But lo and behold, a ginger child, no older than All Might's successor, and standing silently in the crowd as if nothing out of the ordinary.

The Pro Heroes around him paid no heed and simply chalked it up to a Hero bringing along a sibling or child…

… However Sir Nighteye could tell, the way the _child_ saw the things around him, the way this _child_ held himself was _not normal_.

It was as if the _child_ was a _sword_ , ready to be drawn at a moments notice.

This thought frightened Sir Nighteye, but only a tad bit.

He was eager to use his Quirk, Foresight, right then and there on the odd spectacle before him…

… But ultimately, he decided against it and proceeded to the exit.

Even though the child held himself as a sword, he had that look of awe and wonder that one normally would when gazing upon the spectacle that was All Might.

He was no threat.

A child that would admire All Might could never become a threat to society…

… Or a threat to All Might.

In addition, using his Quirk on a baseless thought was a bad idea, especially since he still had Hero work to be done at this hour…

… However those thoughts did nothing to remove the inkling feeling he had felt.

Shirou sighed as he walked alongside Mount Lady down the street.

The party ended without issue, save for All Might's early departure.

Yu got a text message from Kenji, stating that they had finally worked out who would take weekly psychiatric diagnostics with Shirou.

While Shirou did not know the psychiatrist's name yet, he knew that Yu wanted to keep it a secret.

All he knew was the psychiatrist was also a Pro Hero that goes by the name Recovery Girl.

No doubt a support oriented young Hero specializing in the medical department.

Shirou and Yu entered a building and went into an elevator, quickly taking themselves to one of the upper floors where Recovery Girl's office was situated.

They stood in front of a large double door, where small syringe insignia sat on each door's center.

"Go right on in, Shirou-kun." Yu said with a tease, opening the door so Shirou could walk in, "I'm not going to be just outside if you need me okay?

Shirou sighed and walked in, allowing the door behind him to close as he stood in the rather open room.

Instantly Shirou noticed that his earlier hypothesis was somewhat wrong and sought to correct it.

Recovery was a support oriented Hero specializing in the medical department of heroics, but in no way was she _young_ or a within the same age range as a _girl_.

She sat in a relatively tall stool within a moderate sized room. She wore a standard doctor gown around her Hero outfit. She also had a syringe acting in place of a regular pin for her hair bun.

In addition, she had a large syringe that served as a walking cane.

However it was not the weirdest thing Shirou had seen to date and so let it slide.

"Hello," She greeted, "You are Emiya Shirou, yes?"

Shirou nodded, "Yes ma'am."

"My Hero name is Recovery Girl, but my real name is Shuzenji Chiyo," She introduced, but then gestured with her cane towards a reclined chair beside her. "Take a seat here. Feel free to refer to me however you wish."

Shirou obliged and sat, his gaze shifting to the ceiling due to the chair's angle.

"Let's start then shall we…" She said, "Since we already know your name, age… we can start with this question. Can you recount past experiences, or rather your first few memories?"

It would probably be for the best if he didn't say anything about his memories during the Fuyuki Fire. Such a huge disaster would undoubtedly bring unwanted attention to him if they found out that the Fuyuki Fire didn't happen in this world.

Shirou nodded, "I don't actually remember anything about my birth parents, they had most likely died in a fire. However I do know that it was where my foster father found me."

She rose an eyebrow, "What was his name?"

"My foster father's name was Emiya Kiritsugu, he had managed to treat my injuries there and brought me to a hospital."

"I see, I see…" Chiyo noted,

"Afterwards I woke up within that hospital with no memories of my past family. Kiritsugu approached me shortly after and gave me a choice. Stay with the other surviving children, or allow myself to be adopted by him. The choice was simple and so I did not hesitate to follow him."

 _Leaving out the part where Kiritsugu told that he was a Magus right off the bat._

Chiyo nodded, "Any particular reason as to why you wanted to be adopted by him?"

Shirou stayed still for a short while in silent contemplation

"Any reason at all?" Chiyo asked, "If there isn't any then-"

"No, it's okay," Shirou said, "I'll answer that question,"

Chiyo sat silently as Shirou breathed, recalling the memory. However her eyes narrowed ever so slightly under her visor as she took in the distant look.

 _A boy his age should not have had such a distant look_

After a deep sigh, Shirou began to recall.

"When he saved me… he was crying tears of happiness." He said, eyes already recalling a faraway memory. "His face was struck with joy, but I did not know why at the time…"

"You liked that expression?" She asked,

Shirou nodded, "He was so happy after saving me, it was something that I could not help but admire."

Chiyo nodded, "How did he seem to you?"

"He seemed… tired, all the time. While I was sure he was happy with me, but he seemed so sad and tired."

"Hmm…" Chiyo intoned, lost in thought, "I see. How was your life with him?"

"He was a caring father, but he was no good in the kitchen. The first time he was in one actually he nearly burned it down, so I decided to deny him access to it and began cooking out meals myself."

Chiyo earnestly let out a soft smile at this,"I see… Now moving on, how did you come to meet your next guardian?"

"Every day a teenager would break into our home and eat dinner with us. She was a kind girl and often referred to herself as my older sister,"

Chiyo nodded as she gazed at her notes, matching with what the police department has sent her. "So after your foster father died, she stepped up to the role of being your guardian?"

Shirou nodded, "Once she became an adult, yes she did."

"I see… Since we are here to discuss your vigilantism, can we ask how that started?"

"Well, I woke up in an alleyway-" Shirou started,

"Not that," Chiyo interrupted, "From before that. The very start of your disposition. A boy of your age would not put himself in harm's way,"

Shirou frowned, already guessing what Recovery Girl was referring to,

"… Then, the very start of it all would be when Kiritsugu saved me," Shirou restated, "He saved me with a smile, despite the fact that we were total strangers with no prior relation, he cried out in pure joy."

"At that moment, I wondered…" Shirou said, "… Could I ever smile like that…?"

Chiyo, who was writing the entire time, stopped her pen and glanced at Shirou for a second before writing once more.

"I see," She said, "Oh, what was her name again?"

Shirou smiled softly on recalling his rambunctious guardian. "Her name was Fujimura Taiga, but I often called her Fuji-nee."

"She was a bad adult, unable to cook for herself and often leeched off my lunch and dinner." Shirou said, "However she was a good person, often hanging out with me whenever she had spare time in school."

 _When Fuji-nee was still in school and not a failure of an adult that is_ _…_

"Is that so? Then how about _your_ school life? Did you enroll in a school?"

Shirou paused, caught in a loop. If he revealed his school name then Recovery Girl would catch onto the fact that no such school existed within this world.

Seeing his hesitation, Chiyo smiled, "You can give me a general overview if you don't want to tell me too much,"

Shirou was truly blessed with such an understanding psychiatrist.

"My school life was normal, I helped people from time to time and joined the Archery club for a bit." Shirou said,

Chiyo nodded, "I see…"

Chiyo began asking several more questions until dawn came. The entirety of the day went without a hitch and Shirou could safely say that he managed to not tip the fact that he was from a separate dimension.

Overall the evaluation went without a hitch. True it felt a little awkward when certain questions were asked, but those were mostly Shirou's fault, being unable to answer a few questions and wording a few answers to that they'd be vague enough to not draw a conclusion.

"Before we end this off," Chiyo added, "I have one last question for you. Don't worry, you don't have to answer this one if you don't want to, it's more of a little bonus"

Shirou had a feeling that this was not supposed to be apart of the evaluation, but kept silent as Recovery Girl recited the question.

The look in her eyes told him that she would rather have no answer as opposed to a false answer.

"There are two sinking ships, a ship full of criminals and a ship full of women and children, which one of those ships would you save?"

Shirou blinked and let out a relieved sigh, "Was that all of the question?"

"Yes, that's it." Chiyo said,

After Shirou gave her his answer she nodded.

"Well, your diagnosis is complete. A minor case altruism, nothing large," Chiyo said, "In fact, it's a trait shared by many top Heroes, which I suppose is a good thing if you want to be a Hero. You may go,"

Shirou nodded, but discreetly disagreed with Recovery Girl's analysis. Shirou did not give her enough details to deduce his mental condition no matter which questions were asked.

Rin, the girl who had been next to him during the mess called the fifth Holy Grail War, had diagnosed him with something else.

" _You're… Broken,"_

He could not forget those words, not even if he wanted too. They hit too close to home even without him noticing it.

In fact, even Mitsuzuri noticed the fact that he did not laugh in a way a normal person would.

… He did not laugh with emotion…

After all, he was merely a sword.

Shirou turned to the entrance and made his way out,

"Take care of yourself young man," Chiyo shouted out to him,

Shirou turned back and nodded, before walking up to a drowsy Yu and waking her up.

Yu groggily stood and faced the still open entrance, a mildly amused Recovery Girl staring at her,

"I'll make sure he comes back next week." Yu said as she ruffled Shirou's hair and smiled, admittedly embarrassed about her groggy appearance when in front of a rather respected medical figure. "Isn't that great for you Shirou-kun?"

As to _how_ Yu would make him come next week, she didn't know, but she had a vague idea and that was better than nothing, right?

Once they are out of sight, Recovery Girl turned to her clipboard and glanced a Shirou's answer written out before her.

 _'I would save them both'_

She sighed softly to herself… the young man's answer reminding her so much of a blonde buffoon she knew.

As left the building, Shirou and Yu walked towards their next destination.

Once the diagnosis was complete, they now had the free time to do whatever they wanted.

Yu originally wanted to go home and take a nap, but after Shirou's constant reminders, they went to purchase groceries.

"Here we are!" Yu exclaimed, gesturing to a minor _convenience_ store in front of them.

"… Takeyama-san," Shirou said, "Is this where you purchase _all_ your groceries?"

She nodded, "That's right, Shirou-kun."

Suddenly the fact that her fridge was empty made sense to Shirou.

Within a convenience store, you unable to stock up for the future unless you were buying instant noodles.

Shirou detested instant noodles.

Shirou instantly stopped Yu from entering by grabbing her wrist, "Shirou-kun?" She asked confused,

"Where is the nearest Supermarket, Takeyama-san?" Shirou asked with a certain hint of seriousness. "Groceries are always bought at a supermarket, convenience stores are only for conveniences like snacks and such products."

"Eh?" Yu uttered confused, "Really?"

Shirou nodded, to which Yu tapped her chin in contemplation, and nodded in return,

"Okay then, the nearest Supermarket should be a few blocks down…" She muttered as she made her way down the street.

As they left, a figure that left the convenience store entrance caught Shirou's eye. He was rather sickly and thin, wearing a tracksuit that encompassed his form.

He also had a vaguely familiar feel to him…

"Midoriya my boy!" He called out as he left the store, ignoring the blood that threatened to make it's way up his throat. "Hurry up! We cannot afford to fall behind your training!"

"Yes!" Shouted a young boy in a tracksuit, sweat pouring from his body as he took a large swig from his energy drink.

The sickly man grabbed his scooter and followed the young boy down the street, away from Shirou and Yu.

Shirou took a curious glance at the pair that went the opposite direction, but ultimately ignored them.

There was a bigger priority at hand…

… Fixing Mount Lady's horrendous eating habits.

How she managed to maintain her body with a primarily junk food diet, he would never know…

… However, Shirou could not shake the feeling that thing's would change for him in this world, and that those changes would soon…

Being constantly vigilant during the grail war had made him constantly keep his eye out for trouble, even during the peaceful days his enemies would be plotting.

And so those kinds thoughts lingered on Shirou's mind as he tried to catch up to Yu, who got noticed by her fans and immediately started posing like a lingerie model.

Shirou sighed, there was just no changing this woman was there?

* * *

 **A certain scene had to be edited due to a recent revelation that Psyche evaluations were done one-on-one, personal thanks to Zentari2238 for the helpful review.**


	5. Chapter 4 - Knife and Sword

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Once Shirou and Yu returned to the apartment, they set the groceries onto the dining room table, and sat on the couch to relax.

"Shirou-kun, did we really need all _that_?" She asked, gesturing to the five bags of groceries behind her.

She could see several brown eggs, several fruits and vegetables, seasonings, various garnishes, salt and pepper, and a few bundles of chicken, beef, and lamb. Not to mention the obscene amount of rice Shirou said was _necessary_.

Yu glared slightly at the rice bag left in the corner of the kitchen that she had to carry because a child couldn't _possibly_ bare the weight.

She had things such as meat, meat, and meat.

Surprisingly, Shirou had managed to budget well enough that it didn't reach over what she could spare.

Living alone had benefits for Shirou she supposed.

"Since there was a sale, we should use that opportunity to stock up." Shirou said, "Your fridge is empty anyway, filling it up with groceries would give it some use."

Yu gave a wry smile as she sighed.

"So," Yu said, "Now what? I don't know how to cook anything other than an omelette and cup noodles,"

"Preparing cup noodles does not count as cooking," Shirou rebuked offended, "I'll handle the cooking, you can take a bath in the mean time."

"Shirou-kun, your lack of faith in Onee-chan's cooking skills is painful," Yu lamented but ultimately sighed and nodded. She looked out her window and towards the sunset, "You better get started, the sun is almost down, Shirou-kun."

As Yu went deeper into the apartment for the bathroom, Shirou took out the groceries and methodically arranged them into Yu's fridge.

He admittedly did the task slower than he normally would, attributing the reason to both the fact that his younger body did not have much reach meaning he had to move more, and to the fact that he was ultimately unfamiliar with the kitchen.

He spent a good while familiarizing where Yu had placed her cutlery, plates, and other cooking materials before gazing at the fridge, recalling each of the groceries.

What would be a good dinner? They had a relatively exhausting day, having to walk around the city despite the fact that taxis existed… add the fact that their _breakfast_ could hardly keep up their nutrition.

He refused to ever partake of that greasy monstrosity ever again.

Shirou shuddered just remembering the fatty oils.

Their dinner would need to be most of all nutritious, but he needed to keep in mind that Yu had been no doubt _eating_ such fatty foods without hesitation.

Shirou could eat anything but whatever he chose to cook would need to both appeal and satisfy her palette.

After considering the ingredients, Shirou nodded to himself.

It would have to be _that_ , wouldn't it?

Shirou happily grabbed a skillet to wash it, mostly musing to himself his surprise that Yu _had_ a skillet.

* * *

As Yu stepped out of her bathroom, feeling content as the feeling of cleanliness drifted off of her body.

Her _amazing_ body!

She entered her room and opened her wardrobe, taking no time at all to decide what to wear, after all she was at home, no one could criticize her fashion sense here. She also knew that Shirou would care about her apparel as much as he cared about his own.

Which was not at all.

She liked her hello kitty shirt, it was soft and comfortable, and screw anyone who badmouthed it.

Normally Yu would have taken a bit just to straighten out her frazzled hair, but stopped once she noticed it.

The aroma that assaulted her nasal cavity made her swallow a bit of drool she didn't know she had let out.

Yu's eyes trailed towards her slightly open bedroom door, which was how the aroma entered her room in the first place, and forgot about maintaining her hair to it's utmost perfection.

She could do that _later_.

She ignored the part of her mind that said that delaying her hair maintenance was impossible and left her bedroom, taking cautious yet excited steps towards her dining room.

Once she turned the corner, she found two plates prepared, however the food was yet to be seen. Did the smell from the kitchen reach _all_ the way into her own bedroom?

She didn't whether to be grateful about that or saddened.

She gulped once more and hesitantly called out, "… Shirou?"

A head popped out of her kitchen, holding her dull yellow mittens _and_ wearing her pink fluffy apron. "Oh Takeyama-san! Good timing, you can go ahead and sit. I'll be there in a bit,"

Yu nodded dumbly at him as she walked towards the table and took a seat.

She contemplated the scent that assaulted her. She didn't have a good sense of smell like a certain police officer she knew but she caught the very present smell of chicken.

It was then that Yu realized she didn't know how to cook chicken. It would be the first time since living on her own that she would eat the poultry.

She remembered her mother cooked it for her before but she was unable to replicate her efforts and her meager pride prevented her from asking for help.

It took a while to stop the burning.

However what ever thoughts she had were blown away once Shirou walked in with a steaming skillet.

She kept her mouth shut in order to prevent the drool from escaping, and swallowed it.

Still steaming, Shirou used chopsticks to pluck out the chicken and laid _it_ out on both their plates.

The chicken steamed, but it was not the usual color of peach but more golden brown. On closer inspection she realized that it was covered in sauce and multiple garnishes.

Her stomach growled in need.

"I'll be back with the rice and side," Shirou said, causing Yu to whip her head towards his retreating form.

 _There was more?_

Yu didn't know what to think. This dish before her was way above what a kid his age should be able to accomplish from being home alone.

Even the kids on that junior master chef show had parents and betters who assisted them throughout their early lives.

Shirou returned and placed two separate bowls next to each of their plates. Yu stared at them in concealed wonder.

Mashed potatoes and rice?

While a tad bit disappointed at first, it blew away as quick as it came once she noticed the odd coloring on it.

 _I don't recognize it…_

She inched a bit closer to find seasoning and garnish… but grew clueless as to how the shift from the pale white she was used to into the almost golden assault of perfection before her.

"Shirou," She asked wearily, "Did anyone _teach_ you how to cook?

Shirou shook his head as he wiped his hand with a towel, "No, I'm self taught."

 _Bull shit_

There was no way this kid was self-taught! Just look at the stuff he made! Their mere appearance made her salivate like some kind of ravenous dog!

She took notice to the bowl of rice next to her and closely inspected it as well, finding the rice to be a pale shade of brown with some bits of scrambled egg muddled within it.

She moved back to take in the trio before her…

… This time she just let the drool flow,

"Takeyama-san?" Shirou asked with a concerned expression.

She immediately wiped away any drool before Shirou could see and wore a strained yet pleasant smile.

"Nothing Shirou," She replied quickly, taking a glance at the dish.

She grabbed the provided spoon, knife and fork, she would have used chop sticks but it would be hard seeing as she would struggle to pick up the mashed potatoes.

Upon grabbing the cutlery, she paused.

 _What do I eat first?_

This was a dilemma of epic proportions! Even fighting a villain would be a more easier choice!

"I suggest you try the chicken and mashed potatoes one by one before trying them all at once." Shirou suggested, sensing her mental drama with a small smile on his face as he bit into the chicken, pleased with his own work.

Yu nodded, "T-Thanks, Shirou-kun…"

She cut a bite-sized chunk out of the chicken, which was surprisingly boneless, and placed it gently into her mouth.

She instantly chewed through it and swallowed.

She didn't even spare a second the taste the damned thing! Her body just went on auto pilot and digested the thing like tasting wasn't even important!

 _Screw you brain!_

She took another chunk and gently placed it into her mouth, this time slower and more focused.

The taste! She could feel the chicken easily break apart between her teeth as she chewed it. It allowed the sauce that was embedded into the chicken flow out, enhancing the taste like a tidal wave. She felt the taste of the standard salt and pepper, but found that the sauce had some minor spice to it.

It didn't overpower the tenderness of the chicken nor did it undermine the taste, instead it had complimented it. The sauce was familiar though… It was tangy and a just a tad bit spicy, not overly spicy but just close enough to stimulate the taste buds that govern that particular sense…

… It was vaguely close to curry.

She hadn't tasted something like this before. Even her own mother, who she called the greatest chef, had made anything remotely similar to it.

She struggled hard, debating whether or not to partake of another chunk, but her self-control won in the end. Yu turned to the mashed potato with equal amounts of reluctance and excitement.

She used the spoon and scooped a bit-sized chunk, allowing herself to marvel at the ease there was when scooping it.

Yu respected how much time it must have taken Shirou to make sure that it was all mashed. Personally she wondered if he added some kind of liquid to moisten it.

She partook of the substance, making sure that her body didn't go on auto pilot and tasted it.

Her taste buds _wilted_.

The potatoes flowed into her mouth, allowing the entirety of her tongue to savor the flavor. The mashed potatoes had a hint of barely noticeable butter, undoubtedly weaved during the initial mashing of the potato. There was also a fair amount of the standard salt and pepper enhancing the flavor like it was meant to, but the most important flavor made itself known…

"Shirou," Yu called, "Why does the mashed potatoes taste like egg…?"

Shirou could practically feel the intensity of the question, but since he was used to both Taiga and Sakura's curiosity about it, he replied.

"The egg that was used for the mashed potatoes came from the egg used in the rice," He answered, "Instead of fully emptying the egg of it's contents, I only took the yolk for the rice. The rest of the substance within the egg maintains the original flavor of egg, so I added it into the bowl while I mashed the potatoes."

So he basically mixed some egg sauce bit into the initial mashing of the egg… That was….

… Could someone his age think of something like that?

He was fourteen with seven years worth of memories, certainly he could have looked up recipes online and possibly cook books from a local library.

Something like that took diligence, she could admire that actually…

… _At least Heroism isn't the only thing on his mind._

Remembering Shirou's advice, Yu took a spoonful of rice with the chicken on it, already noticing that the sauce began to leak onto the rice. She knew that it would amplify the flavor in a way her taste buds wouldn't be ready for.

She took the bite and widened her eyes.

She was right.

Her taste buds truly weren't ready.

If the glorious chicken from before had _exceeded_ expectations, then this combination made those expectations _explode_ into the stratosphere.

The spreading of the sauce onto the rice, amplified the taste, allowing the flavor to expand from just the chicken to the entirety of the dish. The entirety of the rice had fully absorbed the chicken's sauce and assaulted her taste buds with their supremacy.

It was harmony, neither of the two overpowered the other. A kind of tranquil unity that she was not sure she had tried before, but she was glad she had.

Upon tasting the sauce, Yu felt a vague question take form, what was she forgetting…?

… _Oh wait,_

"Shirou-kun, I forgot to ask before," She mentioned, less intense but more curious. "Why does the chicken taste a bit like curry…?"

"Bulls-eye Takeyama-san," Shirou smiled, "I did use the usual curry spices on the chicken."

"But that doesn't explain how the flavor seeped deeply into the meat…" Yu stated, already taking another bit of the combo to try decipher the taste, as if she were a villain trying to break into a safe.

To be fair, this dinner had far more worth than whatever would be kept in a safe.

"When I was cooking the chicken on your skillet, I poured my own mix of curry onto it and covered it with a lid," Shirou said, "I had a little water in the skillet before hand, this ensures that the chicken will be enveloped in curry infused steam. I was afraid that the combination wasn't going to work out in my favor, but you seem to like it. That's good."

… So he basically steamed the chicken with a skillet, but added curry mix in as well? That was…

… Guess work, pure and utter guess work. Yu might have thought of the idea one day, but she wasn't going to execute it even if she knew how.

Shirou could have ruined a good piece of chicken if he failed even slightly somewhere during the cooking stage, but he did it anyway with magnificent results!

Yu could not help but admire that as she went for the mashed potatoes.

 _How would it mix with the chicken and rice?_

Shirou smiled as he watched Yu place all three of his dishes onto a single spoon.

Truth be told, Shirou wasn't sure that it would work either, so he took a precaution in reinforcing the absorbent properties of the chicken so the curry would integrate well.

It hurt his pride slightly, having to use his magic, but he wanted to impress the person who took care of him during the days he spent in this world.

Even if his nerves hurt slightly.

He still needed to unlock those circuits. Perhaps a few hours of meditation? He knew where his circuits were in his soul, maybe he could force prana into them to awaken them?

Shirou watched as Yu shivered in delight at the combination of the three. No doubt the sauce fused with the egg-infused mashed potatoes, creating a unique blend that might have failed if he wasn't careful.

Then again, he was a third-rate magus trying to unlock his circuits that got sealed from his soul and body reducing in age, leaving only his mental state the proper age.

If someone told him something like that, he would have called a psychiatrist.

As Shirou took the last bite, he saw Yu do the same, except that her plate was already empty.

Her eyes shot open from their bliss and stared at the plate, unable to comprehend where it all went. Even the mashed potatoes had been finished to the last drop!

Yu wanted to cry! Her drop of heaven had been taken away! By herself!

Yet she could not fight back the feeling of fulfillment within her. Specifically within her belly.

"It was delicious, Shirou-kun," Yu praised, "VERY delicious. It seems that Onee-chan underestimated your skill."

With good reason, Shirou was fourteen years old with only seven years of memory. By no means should he be this good at cooking.

Maybe his birth parents taught him before he lost his memories and he simply used his muscle memory?

Shirou chuckled at the thought, seeing no chance of that happening.

"I'm glad you enjoyed in Takeyama-san," Shirou returned, "It has been a while since I've been in the kitchen. I've gotten a bit rusty."

This was true. After the war truly began with Archer's betrayal, he had barely any time to just relax and cook for anyone.

Yu's attention, which was originally at the plate, diverted to Shirou with an intensity, "Shirou-kun… This could have been better…?" She simply asked.

Shirou nodded, "I could have added some garlic or some Parmesan cheese if I could. It might have enriched the flavor. I've seen some dishes do well with cheese on their curry, no idea why they would make that but it could be good."

Then again, he saw the idea done on a cooking show that promoted experimentation in the kitchen… He swore he saw a crepe made out of a pizza once.

Within Yu's head, her mind wandered to the _possibilities_ that Shirou could concoct within the sanctuary of a kitchen.

… _Heavenly_ possibilities…

"Shirou-kun," Yu asked, her stomach not growling like a savage beast anymore, "Why be a hero when you could be a chef? You'd be set for life!"

He cooked it in record speed too, while she only took twenty minutes in the bath. If she had to wait in a restaurant for something like this for only twenty minutes then she would gladly do so!

Shirou chucked, "I was told that very same thing by my old guardian, but then she said that she realized that she wouldn't be able to keep me to herself."

Yu widened her eyes, "She's right! Forget I said anything about being a chef!"

Shirou raised an eyebrow as he began cleaning the table, "Even if I didn't, I'll only be here until the week ends. Unless you adopt me then keeping me to yourself would be an empty promise."

Yu nodded with a contemplative expression,

"Even then, you cant just _adopt_ a child. You have Hero work to do and an agency to run." Shirou added, "Taking care of a kid would be adding stress onto your already tight schedule, Takeyama-san."

Before Yu could say anything more, Shirou had retreated into the kitchen, taking along with him all the dishes that he would be washing.

Yu could not help but notice his eyes. It was both exhausted and reminiscent… As if he had spent time remembering some painful memories.

Yu thought back to all the times Shirou was lost in thought, constantly gazing at a view she could not see, always thinking about things that he would not tell.

It was understandable to her, after all Shirou only knew her for a few days. Why should he trust someone he barely knew with knowledge like that?

Yu sighed.

That night, despite the fact that Shirou had fed Yu to her utmost satisfaction… It was the first time after becoming a Hero when Yu struggled to sleep.

* * *

The morning came a little too earlier than when Yu would have liked. After having slept only 6 hours, Yu was beyond lethargic, and barely had any of her usual spunk.

Which she supposed was a good thing for now, due to the fact that Kenji called her today. Apparently, today was when she was supposed to report to Kenji and Aizawa about Shirou's mental state.

He mentioned that Ragdoll was already keeping an eye on him from afar, so she was allowed to leave him alone in her apartment for a while. She could practically hear the slander that was thrown between the dog and cat even though she couldn't hear them nor was she anywhere near them.

Even though they're professionals they can be surprisingly childish… Not that she can berate them for that.

Shirou was already more mature than her anyway… She certainly didn't hear her dignity cry in shame. That would be crazy!

After Yu silently planned a visit to the psychiatrist herself, she entered Kenji's office where Aizawa, Tsukauchi, and Kenji were already sat. There was a free seat next to Aizawa, presumably where she was going to sit.

She ignored the varied decor that was present in the room… such as the bone plaque above Kenji's chair… or the miniature dog house on his desk… or the exclusive first edition bone girl figurine-

"You're late." Stated Aizawa, breaking Yu from her thoughts.

"Sorry sorry, Aizawa." Yu apologized, taking the free seat near them, "I didn't get much sleep."

Aizawa sighed, "You and your excuses…"

"Enough of that, she's here now. That's all that matters," Kenji stated, nodding to himself once he saw everyone settle in comfortably, "Then, without further delay, relay your report Mount Lady."

Yu nodded and began telling them all of what she learned about the young man.

She told them all about what he told Recovery Girl, even though she felt a bit dirty while telling them. It wasn't her past to tell but her responsibilities came first after all. She also mentioned the fact that he had 'minor altruism' as diagnosed by Recovery Girl…

… Or at least that is what she told them.

She held the psychiatric report in her hand, gazing at the renewed diagnosis. While it was still altruism, she could not tell if it was minor or major. Details were left out by Shirou, that was for sure, even a child could tell that.

However he did conceal enough for the diagnosis to be inaccurate. While she, Kenji, Tsukauchi, and Aizawa wanted to pry further, Recovery Girl would not allow it.

The old Hero explicitly stated in the diagnosis report that she wanted them to take it slow, to allow Shirou to trust them first. This way they could get the entire story without unnecessary complications like lying or information concealment.

Shirou had already been doing that quite a bit around them.

Reluctantly, they all agreed. They didn't want Shirou to conceal his past anymore, but building trust between them was far more important. A person's privacy should be respected after all.

…Also they weren't allowed to drug him for answers…

Aizawa's words, _not hers._

"By the way," Tsukauchi said, "We got sent the results of the blood test,"

Obviously interested, Kenji urged Tsukauchi to continue,

"It seems that there is no match within the entirety country of japan," He said solemnly, "There is no one to contact… We will have to call up a nearby orphanage to take him in… and fill up some paperwork, contact nearby childcare services for aid in finding blood relatives, create a citizenship for the duration of his stay, deal with his punishments for vigilantism…"

Yu could practically feel the despair flowing out of the detective, which was understandable due to the fact that it was _his_ responsibility to deal with all those… _things,_ he listed himself.

Aizawa sighed, "That boy is bringing us useless complications…"

"It cannot be helped. These processes are necessary for both his well being and our salaries," Kenji added, "Besides, our questions will be answered, We only need to wait."

"But how long can we afford to wait," Aizawa said, "We have no leads on as to why the kid was in that alleyway in the first place, nor do we have any leads on the _other_ case…"

Yu blinked, "Other case?"

Tsukauchi frowned at Aizawa's slip, Kenji might have as well but it was hard to tell with his dog-like features.

But alas, they knew Mount Lady would not give up and pry the information from them.

"Approximately two days ago," Tsukauchi reported with a solemn sigh, "We received numeral reports on murder cases within Hosu city."

Yu narrowed her eyes, "Was it the Hero Killer?"

It was a well educated guess. The Hero Killer struck Pro Heroes down like they were flies and leave as if he were but a passing gale.

A gale that left behind Heroes corpses.

"At first, we thought so too… but that's impossible," Tsukauchi said, "The Hero Killer leaves corpses behind yes, but they are mostly whole. This new threat however, left the corpses severed in pieces, limbs were severed and their torso's stabbed repeatedly. There were even bite marks on several locations such as their arms and neck."

Yu could feel the bile rise from her throat as she thought about it. "That's disgusting…"

Tsukauchi nodded, "In addition, the victims were not all Pro Heroes, completely ruling out the Hero Killer."

"What were the similarities in the victims?" Yu asked,

"In honesty, they were mostly small time Villains." Aizawa answered, "All they had on their records were cases of mugging and theft."

"A Vigilante?" Asked Yu, but was met with a shake of Aizawa's head.

"If he were a mere Vigilante, then this wouldn't be a big of an issue." He stated, "A percentage of his victims were civilians, even a vigilante wouldn't _attempt_ to harm innocents. No, this man is more likely to be on a rampage."

"However, they had one thing in common." Kenji added, "All victims had blonde hair and were male, which means that it is most likely that our new threat is after someone."

"A rampage while pursuing a certain blonde then," Aizawa amended,

"We've narrowed down all male blonds left in Hosu and assigned guards to keep an eye out on them." Tsukauchi said.

"The city of Hosu is getting more and more dangerous." Kenji stated, "So in response, alongside the cooperation of the Hosu police force, we have been stationing more of our own Musutafu officers in Hosu as of late,"

"In addition, Pro Heroes such as Best Jeanist and Kamui Woods were sent to maintain a watchful eye." Aizawa added, "We would ask All Might as well, but he is preoccupied for the time being. Endeavor said that he was busy, but will be able to go to Hosu once he is done."

"This… is quite a big deal." Yu said,

Aizawa nodded, "Of course it is, it has only been two days but his kill count has already reached nearly a quarter hundred. Anymore and it'd be a disaster."

Yu winced as she thought of all the lost lives from that… maniac.

"Does this threat have a name?" Yu asked,

"We haven't made an official one yet," Kenji said, "But the tabloids and news channels have already started to call him…"

* * *

" _ **The Beast**_ _has ran rampant across Hosu city for approximately two days._ " The reporter said as yellow restriction tape was wrapped around an alleyway behind her by police officers, " _Not even a week has passed and The Beast's kill count has reached nearly twice a dozen. Victims were reported to have been ripped apart limb from limb live some kind of… animal!_ "

The reported began to become more emotional as she reported. It was unprofessional but honestly who could blame her? " _The Beast has eluded being spotted by local law enforcement and even local Pro Heroes could not find traces of him. Luckily, The Pro Heroes have already sent number 4 Best Jeanist to deal with the situation, but no updates have come forth._ "

Shirou frowned as he watched the television, having been bored with cleaning the house once Yu left.

Even in a world filled with Heroes, they have serial killer cases like these.

 _Humanity is the same no matter what world you go to…_

Some channels had initially guessed that the Hero Killer, whoever that was, was responsible, but even they thought it was far fetched. It has been a week since the Hero Killer's first few victims, but even he sent an untraceable letter to the Hosu police station, stating that he claims no responsibility for it.

In fact, he would rather put his killings on hold to hunt The Beast.

Shirou didn't know whether that was noble of him or simply territorial aggravation.

Originally he was going to clean the house one more time, but right now his mind was focused on two things. The news channel, and the presence that was observing him.

Shirou knew that despite the fact that he was left alone in Yu's apartment, there was someone watching him.

His experience early on in the Holy Grail War told him that he was not alone, yet he knew that he was the only one in the apartment. This meant that he was being watched from afar, like with Caster from the Holy Grail War.

He turned off the television and went into the bathroom, taking his clothes off and entering the shower.

He smiled as he felt the presence willingly disappear. It seemed that his observer had a sense of privacy, luckily enough for him.

Shirou entered Yu's tub and turned on the _cold_ water, letting it rinse his body. He would have used the hot water…

… That is _if_ he wanted to take a shower in the first place.

He was currently spared from being watched, so that allowed him to work in peace.

He cannibalized a nerve and winced in pain. He channeled prana into it and focused on searching for his actual mana circuits.

His body heated up from the prana. Shirou praised himself for thinking of using the cold water to regulate the heat, almost like a freezer.

It took a little bit of soul searching and mental rearrangement, but Shirou located his circuits. He gently flowed prana into his circuits, not willing to have a repeat of his body going numb from activation again.

At the thought of a hammer striking a forge, he felt his body surge with heat. His soul's circuits were slowly and steadily being activated. One by one, his twenty seven circuits came online, allowing surging heat to flow through him without pain.

Unfortunately he could only awaken twelve of them by himself, and he did not know why.

At least he did not need to destroy another nerve again.

He allowed his nerve to recover and began regulating his prana. His younger body would not be used to his prana yet… but he was sure enough through enough time, his body would adapt.

In a way, it was a minor blessing that he only awakened twelve circuits, his body would have probably felt overwhelmed with the entire twenty seven from his own soul. He would acclimate faster, and more efficiently. He could try activate the rest of his circuits at a later date.

Perhaps the amount of prana he flowed into his body affected how many were awakened?

He noticed that the cold water had begun filling the tub so he shut the shower off, lying his entire aching child body into the tub, cooling his body down from the process as he shut off his circuits.

Most magi had their circuits awakened by someone else, but that was only because most new magi did not know where their circuits were, nor did they know their own _trigger_.

However he knew where his circuits were, and his mental trigger. He was probably the only magus that had to _reactivate_ his own circuits anyway.

Shirou allowed a circuit to activate, "Trace… on,"

In a flash, Kanshou appeared in his hand.

It was stable, its form didn't flicker whatsoever and for that Shirou was thankful.

However, Shirou could still feel that his single circuit could provide more, so he traced Bakuya. He held the two swords together briefly before letting them dissipate.

His circuits overall prana output had _doubled._

His traced projections would last longer in this world due to the absence of Gaia's presence, and in addition he had more prana to use even though he only had about half his circuits awakened. Was this because he is technically the only magus around?

However while it did indeed double, that did not change the fact that he had a little less than half of his circuits active. After doing a bit of math he knew that he had somewhat the same prana output, however he did not know whether or not this change would affect his combat ability or not.

Shirou blinked as he came to a conclusion.

There were barely any other magi in this world. There may have been a few in the far past, but based on his prana output, he could say that no one else was using prana.

The world was naturally filled with its own prana, which can be called mana, or if you wanted to be really technical, call it Gaia's Od.

In his world, prana was being used by the innumerable but limited magi that existed, but in this world, with a severe lack of users, prana most likely flocked to those who had mana.

Granted, this was only a theory from a third-rate magus, but who else could he go to that would have the answers to his inquiry? No one but he knew that magecraft existed, and he preferred to keep it that way.

Shirou got out of the tub and grabbed a towel, getting ready to change. However he noticed one thing…

… The one that was watching him was _not returning_ to watch him.

 _Was it a stroke of luck?_

Either way, this development aligned with his plans.

Without delay, Shirou changed into one of the sweaters he bought within the thankfully cleaned guest bedroom, and hurried to the apartment exit.

In the back of his mind however, he swore he could hear Rin calling him an idiot.

He supposed that it was a fair thought, however he could not ignore it…

… To do so would be forever betraying his own ideal, the ideal that he painstakingly fought to prove to Archer on that hill.

Truly it was laughable, something that normal people would call him out for! After all…

… _What sane man goes searching for a serial killer…?_


	6. Chapter 5 - A Clashing Sword

**I've got explaining to do. There are a multitude of reasons as to why this chapter has come out far later than when compared to previous uploads and most of them are what I consider legitimate, but that's up to you to decide. More details on the subject matter on the A/N below.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

 _Humanity_

The term used by human beings to refer to their species as a whole. Speaking of their race as paragons of the right, entities of infinite possibilities, and the beings of resilience.

For hundreds of years since its birth, _it_ had thought otherwise.

To _it_ , humanity was the name of a species that self-righteously walked its own self-forged path of destruction and labels it as _progress_.

Several thousands of years ago, this was not the case. The humanity of ages past merely fought to survive in a world where survival was a reward.

Humanity broke that aspect of the world and gave out survival to the unworthy like charity. Noble souls who could have evolved society died off, while the people who have poisoned the very earth have lived lives of luxury.

Humanity is the name of a beast that feasts on the world and flaunts its hypocrisy.

That was what it learned

So it felt little to no remorse as it butchered the human before it. In fact, _it_ felt something vaguely close to the human emotion known as joy as it ripped the arm from its flimsy socket.

The vermin's pleas of mercy fell on deaf ears.

 _Disgust_

It kicked the vermin before it to the side, where it collided hard with the pavement.

To think that it had been born _for_ such beings…

The humans features were in view, hair as blonde as from his body's memories…

… But the eyes were wrong.

They held despair, fear, and hysteria… None of which existed on those eyes.

It could still recall his new body's last moments…

The glee from that blonde repeatedly driving a modern standardized kitchen knife over and over again into his body's torso… Over and over and _over and_ -

Such an experience had brought his body's previous mental inhabitant to his knees in fear and despair. The sheer insanity that radiated from the blonde's eyes and unnatural ear to ear gleeful smile…

It could recall all the emotions that his body felt back then… His body had felt exactly the same as the vermin that lay dying before it now.

It bisected the corpse once it felt that it had enough of indulging in her negativity.

Yes, the filthy vermin before it was a female. It could not simply rule out the fact that the killer was actually a female, for the human could have worn a disguise.

The laugh that his body's killer had was quite feminine after all… However, it had spent countless hours scanning the entirety of the city but failed to locate the killer, even with this new revelation.

Again.

It was growing ever the more annoyed at the elusive nature of that particular human.

The humans that dealt with the enforcement of _law_ had been following his body's trail. It would not take long before he was found, but until then it would continue to hunt for his body's killer.

It was only a matter of time…

He will find the killer, even if this body died trying, however that didn't stop the inkling feeling that grew in the back of its head, telling him that he was forgetting something important…

… It hoped to remember it soon

* * *

Yu panicked

Actually, that was an understatement.

Yu was _losing_ her actual mind!

"Can you repeat that?" Kenji barked in disbelief,

He stared at the phone in his hand, struggling to keep a firm hold on it, most likely due to held in rage and disbelief at the caller.

" _Uhmm…_ " Muttered the hero assigned to watch Shirou from the phone, loudspeaker on for clarity…

… Or maybe Kenji wanted to share her mistake to the world?

" _I… lost the kid…_ " She admitted,

Frustration and annoyance was clearly evident in her tone. Yu swore she could hear the girl grit her teeth in frustration from the speaker.

"How?" Kenji simply asked,

You could hear the exasperation in his voice. He was not willing to spare the effort for a formal inquiry.

" _When I started the surveillance, he was just cooking and cleaning the apartment, but he had to take a bath you see?_ " She stated, " _I didn't actually want to peep on him… so I turned off my quirk…_ "

Kenji had to hold back from throwing the phone halfway across the room, "You what!?"

" _I know! It was stupid, but I did NOT want to see a kid naked!_ " She defended,

"That was literally the most absurd reason for turning off your quirk, Search!" Kenji argued,

The two seemed to bicker even more, much to the annoyance of everyone else in the room.

"He's not going to be focused for a while now," Tsukauchi said, "We need to organize a party to find the most likely spot he'd be going to."

"That'll be a problem," Aizawa stated, "We barely have a grasp on a reason as to why he left in the first place. Without that, we cannot exactly know where he'd go."

Yu was inclined to agree, even after days living with the Emiya, she could not say that she fully understood him. As she was about to throw in her own two cents into the debate, an annoyed Kenji slammed his fist on the table,

"Why are you such a damn cat!?"

" _Shut up you damn dog!"_

Kenji didn't even notice that his bursts of anger had caused him to smash his fist on his desk, leaving a large indent on it. Coincidentally it made the remote that was on it topple to the floor, causing the impact shock waves that hit inner circuitry to turn on the television…

… Opening to the news channel.

"… _Remains of the Beast's most recent kill has been found once in Hosu city…"_ The reporter stated.

Her face was slowly tinged with a look of forlorn as she looked on to the scene. She was already becoming desensitized to the killings, after having constantly being at the scene of the crime.

Yu's frown became very visible as she looked at the victim's details "… It's not a male."

Aizawa crushed the arm rest of the chair he sat on and frowned deeply, "The Beast's pattern has shifted… Our only lead now is that the victims were blonde…"

He rubbed his chin as he began to muse, "The kill looked fairly recent, judging on how the blood is still pouring out from the wounds… The Beast must still be in Hosu-"

Aizawa widened his eyes as he stared at the screen, rushing out of his seat to get a clearer view.

"Well I'll be…" He muttered in disbelief, "… I believe I know where our young swordsman went."

Curiosity was raised from the group, except for the bickering Kenji, but none more so than Yu. She lightly shoved Aizawa away to grab a glimpse before the cameraman decided moved away for a different or better angle…

… To her disbelief, Shirou stood among the crowd of onlookers, a face set in a frown that no fourteen year old should have been able to make. It was sad and empty, full of empathy but lacking in something…

… What that something was, she couldn't tell very well from just a screen.

Tsukauchi was already on the phone, contacting the Hosu police force about locating the ginger teen, but they would take far too long to locate him for her liking. They were too busy searching for both the Hero Killer and the Beast after all.

… _Wait a minute… Shirou… The Beast…?_

She began to walk away from the television.

"Aizawa," Yu called.

"Yes, Mount Lady?" He inquired.

He had already formed a connection between events… And he did not like his own conclusion, not at all.

"I'm leaving for Hosu, don't stop me." She stated,

Aizawa would normally berate her for thinking of leaving her assigned city, but all he could do was nod his head.

He could not stop the newbie hero after all. She had a glint of both ferocity and worry in her eyes, something that Aizawa could honestly approve of, not out loud but subtly. If she didn't care then she wouldn't go far in this profession.

This caused the Pro Hero to burst out of the room, finally bringing Kenji to reality and away from the cat and dog argument.

"Mount Lady?" He called as he saw her leave, "Why is she…?"

"No time for that," Aizawa declared,

He turned to Tsukauchi, who had finished describing the situation to the Hosu police force.

"We have a suicidal altruistic kid to catch." He stated.

He walked out of the room, already attempting to catch up with the blonde.

As Aizawa sighed, he ever so desperately wanted to rub his irritated eyes in annoyance… remembering the kid's eyes clearly… those eyes that he had saw only on a very meager amount of his colleagues…

… colleagues who ended up _dead with a smile_.

"… _Minor_ altruism my ass…"

* * *

The morning sun had descended, giving way to the ever gloom of dusk. In addition to the ever present hustle and bustle of the city, it was both a beautiful and somber sight…

… However, this was not the only face of a city, something that Shirou knew all too well.

He was nowhere near where the lights of the city night life, having decided that it was something that he would avoid when he sought out his targets.

He should have not even have left the apartment in a fools errand to apprehend a serial killer, it was something that Rin would grill him over for days even after the entire endeavor had ended, of that he was sure…

… but he could not simply let such things go.

In Fuyuki, they had a very low crime rate, where the smallest crimes of theft would be solved quickly by the local authorities. The largest of those crimes were stealing from convenience stores.

In essence, he could not play hero as the police were admirably doing their job.

However in this world… The sheer amount of villains that they had to take care of with the ever present help of Pro Heroes, was staggering. Not enough people enlisted to the police force, instead opting to become Pro Heroes similar to comic books.

Such a turn in the adolescent mind set would naturally result in the plummet of all other occupation employment rates.

There were simply not enough police to search for the criminals, nor were there enough Heroes, despite the high apply rate, that could safely tackle the killers that hid in the shadows, always facing the villains that stand in the spotlight.

With a presence of heroes so dazzling, that which their shadows hid would naturally be ignored…

… It would take far too long for the Pro Heroes to gather a sufficient task force to hunt the Beast, and in that time lost there would be far more lives lost.

 _Unacceptable_

It went against Shirou's very core to ignore it.

He let out a sigh as he sat on top of a water tower nested on a rooftop, having climbed up via an access ladder now somewhere behind him.

He was far away from where the night life of the city existed, somewhere nested within the back alleys and slums.

Shirou had been here for the past few hours, always alert enough to sense any sign of the Beast…

… but so far he had no luck in his endeavor.

From the scene of his most recent victim, Shirou attempted to structurally analyze any fallen object there, hoping to see any way to trace the killer's identity, but either the Beast was crafty or incredibly skilled, for he could not find a single clue…

… All he found were the minced and diced remains of a human being…

Shirou clenched his knuckles for what seemed like an eternity…

" _Ahh!"_

Shirou did not waste a moment and leaped from his perch, landing on the rooftops and breaking into a run.

The Beast had no doubt arrived, he would not let the victim get killed off like the others, not when he finally had the power to stop it from happening…

… The power to save someone,

As Shirou leaped down into an alleyway and turned a quick corner… He saw _it…_

… Standing at the height of a fully grown man, he wore nothing but a ragged pair of pants and roughed-up polo shirt stained red with crimson blood. Shirou chose to ignore the part of his brain that told him it was from the dried blood of his victims,

… But the most defining feature came from the tattoos that existed on his body…

… Every singly portion of his body had it, no spot was left untouched with black sigils and pentagrams carved into the very skin. Twists and curves, places that no tattoo should be placed were covered. Shirou wasn't even sure that it was a web of many tattoo's or a single one that enveloped his body,

… _This is the Beast…?_

Shirou had admittedly expected something more beastly, thus he let the sight take him off guard for a moment, but luckily the Beast was still very much focused on the target before it…

… A young blonde woman wearing a hoodie was sprawled against the concrete wall.

Her arms were battered, leg's barely functioning only able to twitch here and there… but under the hoodie she wore, her eyes screamed defiance, a burning desire to deny her fate.

 _She did not want to die, that was her wish…_

… All Shirou could do was grant it,

"Trace on!"

The Beast heard the call from behind and curiously turned to face it…

… only to have a white blade flying towards his face.

With inhuman reaction time, the Beast bent his body in a far from natural way as the white sword flew over it, embedding itself into the wall before dissipating.

An inhuman growl was released from the Beast as it launched itself at Shirou, who had both a white and black sword ready, leaving behind the woman who stared with both confusion and sudden fear in her eyes.

"Run kid!" She shouted,

She did not fear for her own safety, but the random kid's safety.

It was a trait that Shirou could understand,

However as expected, Shirou did not listen and charged at the Beast, leaning out of the way of a hand with nails left uncut for who knows how long.

Shirou was not going to let the Beast continue to hunt down innocent lives…

… even if he died trying.

* * *

Yu was definitely not calm,

She had spent several hours in Hosu searching for Shirou but ultimately coming up with no lead.

She had initially went to the scene of the Beast's most recent _crime_ , to try find a trace of him, but no luck was had there.

Next, she asked around the locals for any information, which didn't end up so well once they recognized her and wanted an autograph.

Now she could see why Aizawa did not like the spotlight.

Yu shook away the unnecessary thought and checked her cell phone, already seeing the numerous messages from her agency telling her to come back to Musutafu.

She could not do that,

Shirou was her responsibility first and foremost, one that took precedence over her normal Hero work, granted it was technically her Hero work too but… eh, semantics.

As Yu was about to call her agency to calm down, her phone rung once more.

Caller Id, Aizawa Shouta.

Yu steeled herself and answered, "Hello Aizawa?"

" _Mount Lady, where are you?"_ He asked bluntly, but he was lightly panting too.

 _Was he running somewhere?_

"I'm at the shopping district searching for Shirou, why?" She answered, but swore she could hear Aizawa let out a long sigh, which confused Yu for a bit.

"… _This is why I hate rookies…"_ He muttered, still audible enough for Yu to hear him. Just as she was about to give him a piece of her mind, he continued, _"We have no doubt came the same conclusion about the kid. He's after the Beast like a fool due to his horrid mental state, we need to find him before that happens. Why would he be somewhere crowded, when he's looking for a serial killer who avoids such places?"_

Yu's silence was all he needed to hear,

"… In my defense I was panicking," She spoke up in a weak attempt,

" _I wonder everyday how you became a Pro Hero…_ " Aizawa sighed again, " _Look, just go to the nearby slums. I'll head to the park as it's closer, no one's in the park at this time. Ragdoll will meet you along the way to aid in your search, you two can cooperate better than me and her._ "

"Understood," Yu stated as Aizawa hung up, no doubt before he could hear her reply in it's entirety,

 _This is why he doesn't have a girlfriend._

As Yu turned around to go to the slums, she could only wonder why? Why in the world would Shirou even try to go after a serial killer? Why risk his life in such a brazen and foolhardy idea?

… No, she already knew the answer from Recovery Girl's report…

She hastened her pace and ignored the attention she got from fans that recognized her…

 _Don't do something stupid, Shirou…_

* * *

There were far too many heroes in this society.

Back at the newbie heroes meet, he had thoughts such as these that made him question the need for him to fight in a world where the fight never ends…

It was horribly hypocritical of him and a part of him blamed Archer for it. Shirou wanted to be an ally of justice, but some subconscious part of him did not want to end up like Archer.

… However it was a naive thought, he had already accepted the hill in which he would meet his end.

In a world where the fight never ends, where heroes would always rise to the call, there was an equal proportion of villains that rose in opposition.

A hero's dazzling light, always created shadows out of sight.

Too many Heroes… Too many Villains… An endless cycle where the Hero faces the Villain.

That was the situation he was in now…

As Shirou dodged another clawed sweep, letting the Beast swing collide with the alley wall. It's eyes burned with rage and indignation as Shirou created distance.

… _This was the villain…_

The Beast bolted towards Shirou, reminiscently cracking pavement as he closed the distance, claws raised to rend the foe asunder, ignoring the pleas for retreat by the original blonde target.

… _And Shirou was the Hero,_

Shirou weaved to the side and swiped with Kanshou, hoping to cleave through his foe and end the fight right then and there,

However the Beast inhumanly reacted once more, quickly spinning and bringing up his left heel.

Shirou hastily stopped his swing and ducked as the left heel shot past where his head was like a bullet.

He had nearly lost his head from a hasty decision, one that Saber would have berated him for.

This foe was not like Sasori, who relied on his quirk and neglected to react in time with his body, but the Beast was more like his moniker described…

… _A beast, in both movement and in nature._

All sense of humanity had been tossed aside as his fighting style had no form nor tactics. It was simply an attack, one after another.

"Kid, run!" The woman shouted once again.

She was hoping, possibly even praying, to whatever deity was listening that the kid before her would stop being insane and run away,

Unfortunately there was no such deity.

Shirou constantly weaved and bolted away from attacks as if just a single one of them could easily do him in.

He was right to believe in that as the concrete to the left his head shattered upon contact with the Beast's left hook burying itself within.

Whatever quirk this Beast had, it was most likely one that focused on physical augmentation

Shirou stepped in when he saw the Beast's arm was still stuck within the concrete.

The lady gritted her teeth and shouted with all the strength in her lungs, "Run away kid!"

Shirou did not listen,

The Beast had wildly swung with all his force with reckless abandon, allowing the fist to be buried in the first place. By definition it was opening.

An opening he would _not_ waste.

Shirou swung with Bakuya, the wind singing as the noble phantasm cleaved its way towards him, but yet again the Beast had displayed his inhumane nature and reacted.

The Beast leaped up and used his engraved arm as a pivot, throwing both of his legs out under him and slamming Bakuya onto the floor, trapping it. A sinister smile of glee made it's way on the Beast's eyes…

… But Shirou still had Kanshou, so he let go of the disposable white blade and swung with all his might.

Flesh had been cut and first blood had been drawn, the Beast shouted in rage and in indignant agony. The black blood had covered his blade, adding a glistening sheen to-

 _Wait, what?_

Shirou was caught off guard as he was harshly kicked away. He coughed blood as the force of the kick had shattered a rib or two as he rolled on the ground.

 _Why was his blood black? His Quirk?_

Shirou winced as he leaped onto his feet, swiftly tracing another Bakuya and dissipating the white blade under the Beast's foot, causing him to stumble at the sudden loss of footing.

Shirou took advantage of that and threw both of his blades at the Beast,

The Beast saw the blades coming and turned his body sideways, allowing the blades to fly by him in paper thin accuracy.

Unfortunately the Beast did not account for Shirou's sheer tenacity whilst being injured, as the young man had already traced two more blades, albeit more hollow that usual due to slowly running low Prana, ready to sheer through the Beast like a claymore.

 _Victory, this was the end-_

Thoughts cut short as a flash of light took Shirou's vision, causing him to reacting by closing his eyes involuntarily.

"Get away kid!" The lady shouted,

Sensing danger, Shirou leaped away in caution of whatever the Beast was attempting.

Both the woman's shout of warning and his quick act of caution had saved his life.

Shirou felt something sheer into his skin, but it was just a graze minor…

… Although if he had continued his normal decision of cleaving the cornered Beast then he would have been a disembodied torso, flying over the alley way…

… _Dead,_

Shirou threw away the treacherous thought. The thrown Kanshou and Bakuya had been blasted to the sides of the alleyway, where they were buried to the wall. Shirou dissipated them and focused solely on the Beast before him. Shirou widened his eyes in disbelief as he saw what the Beast had held…

… Two unsightly creations, two failed constructions of weapons by the definition of a qualified blacksmith, two reverse grip daggers that were faulty in every single possible way…

Yet they were exactly as they should be… the two Fang Grinders.

 _Tawrich, the Left Fang Grinder._

 _Zarich, the Right Fang Grinder._

Two weapons were crafted and appear similar to throwing daggers made by certain tribes in Africa. Daggers in the way they were wielded yet not in their use, they were primarily sword breakers in the off hand in pair with a short sword.

The odd forging of the blade gave way to even more unorthodox fighting methods, but above all he felt their shared history flow into him, what he saw was-

 _-Rage, murder, greed, hate, anger, arrogance, despair, terror, annoyance, regret, death, murder, hate, arrogance, rage, terror, annoyance, despair, death, despair, murder, despair, death, rage, indignation, regret, sorrow, anger, death, murder, despair, despair, murder, anger, anger, anger…_

… _**defeat-**_

"Dodge!" She cried out once more,

He was cut from his structural grasp induced trance and allowing him to see the Left Fang Grinder fly towards him,

Shirou would have to thank the woman later,

Shirou rolled out of the way, under the over head swing of Tawrich, and slid roughly on the pavement, wincing slightly when the pain in his ribs shot through him as he grazed his knee through the thin fabric of his trousers.

He studied the Beast closely, watching as his breath, as his very movements changed completely.

No longer was he fighting like a beast… If Shirou could describe it, the very aura around him had changed…

… And Shirou _knew_ why.

The Beast used the grinders only to fight defensively, never battling to win, only to not lose…

… _However, the original wielder had one fact about him that allowed him to deviate from that method of combat and excel at a single aspect…_

Shirou was cut from his thoughts as he raised Kanshou, the black blade, to block a swing from the Beast using the Tawrich, the Left Fang Grinder, struggling as steel grind against steel.

Shirou could only watch as the Beast shifted his grip, causing Tawrich to force its way towards him… and to his surprise the Left Grinder did something he did not think possible…

No… he knew that it was possible, but that did not mean he could accept it…

 _Bakuya_ began cracking,

The _Noble Phantasm_ was cracking.

Granted it was traced a bit hollow within, but it was still a crystallization of a legendary blacksmith. In no way should it have been broken from the Fang Grinders, which weren't even noble phantasms themselves.

Shirou kicked away with his child legs, only annoying the Beast slightly and causing almost no damage, leaving the near shattered Bakuya behind… but not before flooding the white falchion with Prana,

The Chinese falchion hit the ground as the Beast bolted towards the retreating Shirou, jumping over Bakuya.

That was his mistake.

The moment Bakuya impacted the ground, the volatile amount of Prana flooded into the sword released, flooding it, cracking it even further…

… _Breaking it_.

Bakuya exploded violently into a mass of shrapnel, shredding into the Beast who recoiled in surprise at the sudden burst.

Shirou took a few moments to recover his footing and watch as the Beast stood back up, black blood flowing from it's wounds…

Shirou had not fought something with blood as black as tar before. Throughout the Grail War, all of his opponents had relatively been human. Bleeding like regular humans…

Prana enhanced humans…

Berserker didn't count,

Shirou grimaced as he traced another Bakuya and got into position, feeling the Prana in his circuits fluctuate irritatingly, telling him he was low on Prana. At the present moment, he truly wished he had Rin's Prana to use instead of the 12 circuits he had active.

The Beast… no, he couldn't be called that anymore. Shirou could see, he _felt_ the weapons shared history…

These weapons did not belong in this world… for they were not forged _within_ this world… for the owner of these daggers did not exist in this world…

… The owner's name was Angra Mainyu… and he was a S _ervant._

A Servant was superior to any normal human being, capable of being ten times to a hundred times stronger or faster than them. The Beast had no physical augmentation quirk like first assumed, but it was just his natural stats as a servant overpowering the norm.

The weakest of all Servants who fought not to win but instead to not lose… The one exception to this rule was when his opponents were not servants, but human.

… Angra Mainyu, all of the world's evils, was a servant that surpassed all other servants at the single act of _killing humans._

Shirou tensed once more, fighting off the rib pain and the sweat that threatened to fall over his brow.

 _This situation just got a whole lot more complicated,_

He was physically in pain, severely low on Prana and stamina, and the enemy was specifically specialized in killing his species.

If only the rest of his circuits awakened when he needed them to!

Angra Mainyu blasted forward, cracking pavement with a malevolent glint in his eyes, daggers crossed in front of him to cleave Shirou through.

Shirou did not have enough energy to roll out of the way, all he could do was block with Kanshou and Bakuya.

Luckily, Angra Mainyu pulled back his daggers to go in for another attack after seeing that the fully traced non-hollow Kanshou and Bakuya wouldn't break under the force.

Tawrich was swung overhead,

Bakuya blocked by catching the blade by its grinders,

Kanshou was thrust towards the servant,

Zarich parried by batting aside,

It was a repetitive dance of life and death… Exhaustion and adrenaline… Good and evil…

… _Hero and Villain,_

Shirou switched it up and tossed Kanshou where he would have normally thrust, causing Angra Mainyu to momentarily stumble, but due to his inhumane reflexes he used Zarich to catch the blade…

… But a new hastily traced Kanshou had sank into Angra Mainyu, spilling the black blood like a torrent, a hail of sludge.

However Angra Mainyu didn't flinch away and grit his teeth shut.

With maddened eyes he used Zarich to bat the original tossed Kanshou, embedding it to the near alley wall.

With the Right Fang Grinder free, Angra Mainyu brought it down on Shirou.

Shirou's arm was still on the black sword stabbed into the servant. Bakuya was still locked with Tawrich so that meant it could not be used to block. All Shirou could do was let go of the embedded Kanshou and stuck his arm out.

There was not enough Prana or time to trace a weapon to block, so he did the next best thing.

He used his young hand to intercept the blade, denying it the chance of cleaving through him but allowing the fact of it piercing Shirou's palm, sending echoes of pain across his body.

It wasn't his original aim but Angra Mainyu saw a chance,

He pulled Zarich to the side, revealing Shirou's unguarded side, and struck out with his leg.

Shirou gasped as he felt the limb bash into his ribs, cracking and irritating them further.

As he saw Angra Mainyu draw back his leg for another kick, Shirou knew he had to somehow block it. He could not take another hit like that, his ribs would shatter from the force and he would black out from the pain.

Using Bakuya was not an option, still keeping Tawrich in place. If he had dragged Bakuya to intercept the kick, Angra Mainyu would use that opportunity to drive Tawrich into Shirou, effectively killing him.

The Weakest Servant drove another kick home, the only factor keeping Shirou awake was the fact that he flooded his side with Prana, reinforcing it to be more durable…

… But it would not last, the next attack would end him, breaking the rib and piercing his lung,

As Shirou saw the foot rear back for the final kick…

… It _stopped._

Shirou could see a hand wrap around the leg, dainty but sturdy. Unused to being used for combat but very much capable of doing so.

They were the hands of the lady from before, who had dragged herself towards them with her battered arms and crippled legs.

"Not on my watch you bastard!" She shouted,

There was rage and adrenaline running through her. The monster before her was actively trying to kill a kid, it was both heinous and a hideous display of inhumanity.

The man didn't even look remorseful about what he was going to do, in fact he looked like he was going to enjoy it!

Angra Mainyu just simply gave a very annoyed glance, rearing up the caught leg to slam down on the offending human,

 _Not if I can help it!_

Shirou did something that would no doubt bring both an amused and gobsmacked smile from a certain twin tailed magus…

… Shirou enforced as much Prana as possible to his leg and _kicked_ Angra Mainyu…

… right in the in the **balls**.

Angra Mainyu let out a clear gasp of pain, wide-eyed shock, blatant indignation- so many feelings ran through the embodiment of humanity's evils that he could not formulate an appropriate response to the absurd act during the life or death situation.

Shirou swore that he could hear a red-clad servant die a little inside,

It was a _childish_ mode of attack,

It was _unfitting_ for a noble warrior,

It was _something_ that gave them a chance at _victory._

As Angra Mainyu stumbled his footing, the absurd amount of pain from the Prana enhanced jewel crusher made him stumble…

… Allowing Bakuya enough leverage to slip out of the clutches of Tawrich.

Shirou used Bakuya, and thrust the blade with a cry of exertion.

The final attack pierced the heart of Angra Mainyu, ending the cries of pain from the weakest servant…

… If only that was the case,

A wave of despair threatened to envelope both the lady and Shirou as Angra Mainyu opened his mouth.

" **Verg…** " He intoned,

Shirou swore his stomach had dropped. Those words, although different in meaning, had the very same air that he had heard in the past during the entirety of the Holy Grail War…

The Weakest Servant was using _it_ ,

"… **Avesta,** "

His _Noble Phantasm_.

 _Negativity, death, annoyance, greed, lust, pride, hate, vengeance, irritation, despair_ \- all negative emotions in the form on concepts enveloped the servant…

… Changing him,

As the curses enveloped him, all that Shirou could see was the shrouded silhouette of a wolf man taking shape.

Why wasn't Shirou moving, what was the Noble Phantasm going to do?

He could not avoid what had come,

Blasts of the concepts exited the weakest servant, twisting and turning into tendrils, driving themselves at Shirou…

… Shirou swore he was screaming out in pain, but he could not hear himself…

The pain that he inflicted on Angra Mainyu, he felt all of it…

 _He felt Bakuya slice into his side,_

 _He felt Kanshou stab into his chest,_

 _He felt fragments of a broken Bakuya shred into his body,_

 _He could feel absurd pain of his family jewels being crushed by his own Prana enhanced foot,_

… But did not once obtain any wounds, only the pain from the experience overwhelmed him.

He was at his utmost weakest, damage too high for him to stay standing properly alone.

As the form of the wolf dissipated from Angra Mainyu, he lifted Tawrich, and brought it down on Shirou.

The embodiment of all the world's evils roared in victory, Tawrich singing as it was once more ready to rend flesh,

 _It was the end-_

"Shirou!"

Life returned to his eyes despite the soul crushing amount of pain he felt,

 _Yu?_

Buildings crumbled around them as the pavement cracked and shattered… Yu, in her giant form, uncaring of the buildings around her had used her two of her fingers and pressed down on the weakest servant like a bug, avoiding crushing Shirou and the lady that had helped him in the process.

Shirou was glad that the noble phantasm of all the world's evils had ended right then and there, otherwise Shirou would have felt the extremity of being crushed.

"Are you alright!?" She asked,

Shirou could not help but smile in gratitude at her as he felt the concern dropping of her voice like a river.

If she had been a just second too late then he would have died right then and there…

 _The Heroes had arrived…_

 _The villain had been defeated…_

 _A woman's life was saved…_

Shirou did not properly respond to her initial question. Actually he couldn't anyway do so anyway, seeing as his voice box was so sore that it hurt merely humming and his body, battered beyond belief.

Instead, he opted for the easier option and chose to let his body drop like a leaf,

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, as I stated above here are the reasons why this chapter got delayed by a few weeks and here are the reasons why.**

 **I have school. The assignments other tasks that were needed to be performed merely took precedence over this story, which I consider to be a hobby. It's a side thing that I enjoy but it isn't a full time thing that I can afford to pay attention to for long periods of time without actually going back and studying for classes.**

 **Next, right after I posted the fourth chapter, in a display of remarkable time management, I discovered that it was an exam week next. So the entirety of the days leading up to it required me to study and focus more on grades, thus lessening the time actually spent writing the chapter, hell I only started a week ago, and I _still_ had obligations to fulfill.**

 **Also, remedial classes. I am not the most smartest person and have failed to actually learn stuff. Apparently, what my teacher says will be the most easiest subject for my pre-calculus class, is a subject that I personally struggle with, for some innane reason like a massive retard. Not to mention the fact that both my physics and chemistry classes led to an almost fail (actually scratch that I failed chem for a semester), I had to overhaul my dumb ass to study like no failure had to before.**

 **These were the primary reasons as to why I've spent time away from this newly budding story (Totally not the fact that I've been lazing around and worked a bit on a RWBY and Fate cross one shot idea).**

 **On a side note, I'm amazed at how many people liked this concept (Probably not because of the actual content of the story and more on the fact that there exists barely any other alternatives) so I feel like it was unfair to you that it took this long, and will probably take an unpredictable amount of time for the next one to come out due to the same reasons above.**

 **However on the brighter side I do have a decent enough draft (Despite the fact that it had changed over a billion times since its creation) that goes all the way to the fourth episode of BNHA, which is a while away technically as I've almost begun to finish the integration of Shirou into the BNHA world.**

 **My sincerest apologies are given to you. If I were a reader (which I also am) I wouldn't want to wait this long, despite the fact that I wait a year or more for my favorite fics to update.**

 **Until I've managed to cough up some time to write up the next, and hopefully final integration chapter, good bye.**

 **Edit: Some minor wording edits for better flow, in addition to a minor fix that which will not be named.**


	7. Chapter 6 - A Flawed Sword

**I said I'd take an undefined amount of time for the next chapter... turns out I'm a damn idiot and should be focusing on his studies, but I've gone and written a chapter with my free time instead of studying.**

 **Some minor Edits were made on the last chapter but nothing too major.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

"Shirou!"

Upon seeing Shirou's collapsing form, Yu cried out with even more concern and worry in her tone than the last time,

Before the young man impacted the floor, several sturdy bandages wrapped around him preventing him from falling,

They were far more gentle than when Aizawa restrained him last time, taking careful caution into account when it came to his physical state,

Aizawa ran his hands over the boy and determining the damage, wincing as he saw the hole in the midsection of his palm.

"He needs a doctor," Aizawa stated, "Recovery Girl!"

"Already on it," He heard the reply from behind him.

He saw an elongated pair of lips impact gently upon Shirou's arm causing an instantaneous effect. The smaller cuts around his body, grazes on his legs and lacerations upon his forearms were healing at a rapid rate.

However, the cuts had stopped healing after a bit of time. He was still injured despite the usage of the quirk, which can only mean one thing…

… The kid only had enough stamina to safely heal the openings in his body, preventing him from bleeding out from multiple orifices, but he still had damage within the actual body, enough damage that his stamina wasn't enough to properly heal him…

 _How much did damage you truly sustain?_

"I'll need to perform surgery immediately, lay him down gently," Chiyo said,

Aizawa did as he was told, leaving it to someone with far more expertise than him to deal with the situation.

He turned away from the field surgery in progress and faced the struggling villain beneath Mount Lady's fingertips.

He was surrounded by police officers who approached the moment they could, guns drawn and directed towards the serial killer, ready to blow his brains out.

They did their best to ignore the blood splatters of the _child_ that fought with the killer and the odd colored blood from the killer himself, mostly thinking of it as a quirk.

The two odd dagger weapons had fallen out of the Beast's grasp and were some distance away from the impact of Mount Lady's actions.

Luckily they weren't in a residential area, the only destroyed buildings were old and abandoned warehouses. They were set to be demolished a week or so anyway, so it was actually a boon to the future hired demolition teams.

Aizawa approached a couple of officers, who seemed to be tending to a severely injured civilian woman, "How are you feeling ma'am?"

"Like I got mauled by a puma," She muttered.

She slowly turned her eyes to the elderly hero performing field surgery, a frown marring her admittedly beautiful visage, "… How's the kid?"

"No update from Pro Hero Recovery Girl yet…" Aizawa trailed off, taking notice of the worry present on her face… but more importantly the vague familiarity with her features…

 _Isn't this…_

"… Uwabami? Is that you?" He said in surprise.

The two officers blinked and rubbed the fatigue away from their eyes to get a clearer look.

The newly named Uwabami sighed. "You noticed? I guess I have to change my civilian disguise…"

Uwabami, the Pro Hero specializing in tracking and dealing. She hunts down cowardly villains who chose to retreat, like a snake taking down a weakened foe.

She is loved by her fans, someone who prefers the shining spotlight and takes modeling jobs in addition to her Hero work, much to Aizawa's displeasure. They could not be any more different.

Although despite her frail appearance and preference to celebrity work, she has both the strength and ability to take down villains.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes and took in the injuries in a new light. It was one thing if the enemy managed to deal with a civilian, it is a completely different beast altogether if the victim was a fully trained professional hero who dealt with villains on a near-daily basis.

… Although in her case, it was most likely weekly.

"It was one of my free days," She added. "So I decided to stroll somewhere quiet… Not really the best of ideas actually. I should have brought my hero equipment with me…"

It was an excuse, Uwabami was a support tracker Hero with barely any Hero equipment. She did not deal with the aspects of combat but instead on the tracking of villains who have managed to flee the scene.

The snake's on her hair rose out of her Hoodie.

It was a good choice to keep them hidden. They served no purpose in the immediate battle, unable to actually be used in close quarter combat. It was far better to keep them hidden in case of a situation that can benefit from a surprise attack,

"I honestly thought it was the Hero killer you know? I thought I could run away or something but imagine my _surprise_ when I found out it was the Beast!" She muttered. "I swear I thought I was gonna die…"

"I can contact your agency and let them know what happened," He offered,

She shook her head with a soft smile playing on her features.

"It's fine, I can do that myself after all. Just deal with the scum of humanity over there," She pointed off towards the restrained killer, an uneasy and unbridled look of hate playing on her features. "This is why I prefer celebrity work…"

Aizawa nodded absently and walked away. Before he got out of earshot he heard Uwabami mutter. "I need to step up my training…"

He could not help but smirk a little as he left the officers to escort Uwabami from the premise, helping her walk away and to an ambulance.

A few steps and he came to a stop in front of the Beast, not too close, but not too far. He knelt on his toes and gaze a leveled stare at the killer.

He had his professionalism being the only thing stopping him from bashing the Beast's head on the concrete floor. He was honestly flailing like an insane _maniac_ , with all the pavement bashing and scratching.

"So… you're the Beast?" He asked with a raised eyebrow,

He received no reply, only indignant roars, and petulant howls.

 _Truly, a maniac._

"Can you even talk? Or are you like your moniker, a mindless beast?" He taunted with a smug smirk growing on his features. His overall professionalism somewhat slipping, but he could not help it due to the situation.

It seamed _that_ particular commentseemed to draw a reaction, causing the killer to glare at Aizawa like a mad man.

"Quite the amount of wounds you have there…" Aizawa noted. "That much from a kid?"

A growl of indignation and rage escaped his throat.

"Any other reply other than idiotic growls?" Aizawa added,

He really shouldn't have expected anything more, the Beast just roared like a buffoon while trying to claw his way out of the fingers keeping him in place.

"Well, can't say I didn't try it," He muttered tiredly. "Good luck to the interrogation team for this one…"

"Is Shirou okay?" Yu called overhead, mind racing with worrisome thoughts.

Aizawa would not state the fact that she was crushing the Beast further into the pavement from subconscious ire.

"He's severely injured. Other than the glaringly obvious hole in his palm, he has several cracked ribs that need to be treated, internal organ damage and some cuts haven't closed completely…" Chiyo said.

She waved a hand calling over several paramedics. "He'll be fine if we get him to a hospital within an hour, but any later and I won't be sure."

The two she called had loaded Shirou onto a stretcher, and carried him off into an ambulance, set on stand-by beforehand by Recovery Girl once she was informed of Shirou's departure,

Thank any deity that the dog headed chief managed to stop arguing with Ragdoll enough to call Chiyo about further details on his mental state,

She didn't reveal anything new of course, but if she didn't insist on coming along with an ambulance then… Aizawa didn't even want to think about the repercussions on the mental state of all Heroes involved in letting a kid die on their watch.

"I suppose we must thank Ragdoll for picking up on his signature," Chiyo mentioned offhandedly as if it wasn't her main concern.

It wasn't.

"That's true… but what about…" Yu added, disgust and barely concealed rage directed at the struggling killer, "This… _scum_?"

Angra Mainyu may be the best servant at killing humans, but a super sized giant labeled a human did not count as _human_.

"We detain him and haul his sorry ass off to jail. Put restraints so whatever his quirk is cannot be utilized," Aizawa said while turning to walk away.

Yu sighed and took a glance at the _filth_ squashed beneath her literal fingertips, "Can I just break his legs for insurance?"

"No."

"What about his arms?"

"No."

"What about-"

"No."

Yu pouted at Aizawa's reply.

 _Best not tell him that there might be a few broken ribs already._

The Beast was restrained with the help of Aizawa, utilizing an absurd amount of specially made bandages to wrap the killer up, leaving no room for comfort. The only thing that could be seen from the Beast was his tuft of hair popping out of the cocoon.

Also, his eyes that screamed bloody murder, but Yu wasn't worried that much, she could just smash him again.

If it weren't for the fact that he was a serial killer, this would have been funny.

As Aizawa began dragging the contained villain across the pavement, Yu shrunk and stared at the night sky, taking in the stars that had just started appearing, escaping the obscuring nature of the clouds.

The day had ended, the battle was over.

All she could do was hope that the kid was going to be fine.

* * *

Shirou stirred.

He took in his surroundings faintly, a strange sense of nostalgia filling him as he saw the clean white walls, sunlight breaking through the windows, and an IV bag injected into his forearm.

Shirou came to a conclusion, the night against Angra Mainyu had ended and he was taken to a hospital to recover from his injuries,

Shirou tried to lift his arms, but found that endeavor to be pointless as he was bounded to the hospital bed by restraints,

It made sense, they didn't want him to run off again.

He was technically still on probation, which meant he ran from it.

Judging from some laws around the world, there were numerous different ways for him to be dealt with.

There was the jail time, of course, something that he honestly wanted to avoid at all cost.

There was boot-camp, of course. It was a better alternative but he would rather not spend the time doing physical training _only_ , a balance between his magical and physical training would benefit him far more.

There was the utmost best option of simply being let off the hook and shipped off into an orphanage, but Shirou also did not want that. He may like kids and would gladly help the caretakers if asked, but there was a chance his behavior would end up affecting them,

Shirou shuddered at the rather far-fetched thought.

The world did not need any more soon to be Archers.

Shirou relaxed and tried to forget the horrifying thought he gave himself, he winced in pain. His circuits had strained and now it came back to bite him.

In all honesty, he was sure he should have lasted longer in that fight prana-wise. He had more than the average magus and he would argue that they were of somewhat acceptable quality, but even then he had ended up using up far more prana then usual.

He honestly found it easier tracing normal household object and mundane swords than his Noble phantasms.

This _worried_ him.

But Shirou could not ponder further as the hospital door opened slowly, revealing a nurse to busy taking notes on her clipboard to notice that he was awake.

His thoughts would have to be had at a later date it would seem…

As the nurse looked up from the clipboard, she blinked in minor surprise before ticking something off the clipboard and walking out of the room.

Well, that was… interesting.

A moment later a couple of familiar faces walked in. Aizawa with his tired eyes, Tsukauchi with his trademark smile, Kenji and his dog head…

 _Wasn't someone missing?_

"Shirou!"

 _Ah, there she was._

She squeezed between everyone and took a glance at Shirou's body state. It seemed that whatever high intense questioning she had in mind evaporated in an instant. "Do you feel alright?"

Shirou nodded, "I'm alright, tired but I'm okay."

"Good," Yu stated with a smile… before her eyes narrowed and arms swung to her hips. "Care to explain why you decided to willingly seek out a serial killer?"

Shirou swore he saw true demon horns extend from her hero mask.

"Yes, please do," Kenji added. "It was a reckless code of action that would have resulted in the loss of our life if Mount Lady had not made it in time."

Shirou flinched at the mention, prompting Kenji to continue.

"You ran from probation only a few days until it ended, willingly sought out a highly dangerous villain and in addition committed an act of vigilantism… _again_ ," Kenji said.

"You were beyond reckless," Aizawa stated. "You came back nearly injured beyond saving if it were not for Recovery Girl's quirk. Do you have a death wish brat?"

Ah, so that was how he managed to survive.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes menacingly, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Shirou took a few moments, debating whether it would be better for him to keep quiet, but ultimately he decided against it and spoke.

"I could not stand by and let him kill any more people," Shirou said.

Aizawa could feel a migraine incoming. He knew that Recovery Girl kept something from them in that report and he could not see why. In fact, he saw _more_ reason to have told them.

"The police and Heroes of Hosu had it under control, we were close to pinpointing his whereabouts," Aizawa countered.

"By that time many more people would have died," Shirou said.

Aizawa's head throbbed due to the blood rushing to his head, feeling annoyance rush through him. It was like talking to a tape mix or a broken record.

 _This kid!_

"It is not your responsibility to worry about such things," Kenji refuted, "It is ours and ours alone. We are tasked to deal with people like the Beast and not you,"

"Even if it wasn't my responsibility…" Shirou toned, "I will not- no, can not simply stand by and let people die."

"For people you don't even know?" Tsukauchi asked genuinely curious. "People who you have never met and people who could be even worse than the Beast?

It was a stretch and Tsukauchi knew it, but there was something in that question that needed to be found.

"Even if they are people who I don't know, they are still people that need to be saved…" Shirou stated and with conviction he spoke, "… Whether that person was a good or bad, hero or villain, it is never wrong to save someone."

It was in his nature. He will save as many as he can, anyone that needed saving will be saved. He cannot abandon them,

Aizawa swore he found himself staring in disbelief at what he said next, and he was sure that everyone else in the room did as well.

 _This kid… would save a villain?_

Tsukauchi was the first one to shake the disbelief, "… Even at the cost of your own life?"

When Shirou frowned and nodded, that was when Yu thought back to when they read Recovery Girl's report…

 _Minor altruism my ass_

"I'm going to meet someone," Aizawa stated, leaving the room.

Kenji sighed and turned around, following Aizawa with hands behind his back.

"Tsukauchi, come with me," Kenji stated, "Mount Lady, stay and guard him. Make sure he does not leave this room."

Despite the frown on her face, she nodded.

Once the trio left the room, Shirou could only stare at the irate Mount Lady, who was trying desperately to not lose her self-control.

 _Minor altruism my ass_

* * *

Tranquility.

That was what Shuzenji Chiyo felt right now. She had just got out of the surgery room and was ready to relax. Her shift had ended and now she entered the break room.

There was a miniature fridge filled with some break snacks and goodies, but none of them beat the magic of the _pickle_.

The green vegetable had always been there to soothe her aching stomach whenever she was hungry, mostly because no one would touch her pickle jar, and was one of the only things that helped her calm down after a hard day's work.

As she sat on a comfortable cushion chair, a collapsible table before her, her jar of pickles to her left and a cup of coffee to her right. She took the wondrous delicacy, holding it like the holy grail, and proceeded to take a bite-

"Recovery Girl!" Aizawa barked, causing her to jump and throw the pickle to the air, "We need to talk!"

Recovery Girl stumbled to catch the flying pickle, desperate to not let such a fantastic object taint itself on the floor.

Once she caught it, she merely glared at the offending Pro Hero who so rudely marched into the room and ruined her tranquil period, "What is it? You're interrupting my break time!"

"Put your break to the side and start talking about this," Aizawa said, throwing a file onto the table… The same file she submitted to them about the young man's psyche evaluation…

"Ah, so it was about that," Chiyo said, biting into her pickle for a few moments, savoring the crunch.

Aizawa frowned, "Is that all you have to say? This is clearly a wrong evaluation."

"Yes, it is," She took another bite from the heavenly pickle.

"Why?" He demanded

"Isn't it obvious?" She mused, "He didn't trust us enough to reveal enough about his past so I reported based on what I got,"

"There is a heavy difference between _minor_ and _major_ altruism, Recovery Girl," He argued,

"Yes there is, do you think I'm daft?" Chiyo said, sounding offended,

"I don't have time for games Recover Girl," Aizawa said, nearly growling, "You knew about this didn't you?"

"If I did, would it have changed anything?" She said,

Aizawa was obviously going to say yes, but he took a moment to pause and reflect.

Even if they knew it was a case of major altruism, Yu would still report on it yesterday. Even if they had called Ragdoll to maintain a strict view on the suicidal brat, it would have been far too late.

Shirou would have already been on the train to Hosu, far away from where Ragdoll could effectively scan and search.

Aizawa sighed and shook his head,

"There you have it," Chiyo said, smiling as she sipped on her coffee.

"That still didn't answer the question," Aizawa persisted.

Chiyo sighed and waved a pickle around, "Fine, if you're so persistent. This is why youngsters are so-"

"Get to the point,"

"Rude," Chiyo said. However, sighed as she saw where he was coming from, "Due to his major altruism, he will want to save lives like a certain buffoon I know. There is not really a way to fix this. Believe me, I tried. He will be trying to save lives every second of his life, there's no stopping that."

Aizawa sighed and rubbed his head, "So because it was inevitable, you chose to ignore mentioning that?"

"If I had written that, then he would be locked up in a psych ward where they'll be trying to beat that mindset out of him," Chiyo said. "I'd rather not send a youth there."

 _Not when there was a boon to be had with his behavior._

A moment of silence passed before Aizawa grabbed the file, "Anything important you'd like to mention before I go?"

"… Don't hold it against him," Chiyo said. "He won't learn if you try to hammer home the fact that he nearly died. He will merely seek to get stronger to make sure that he can save more lives…"

… Her thoughts drifted to a certain smiling hero.

"… The only way we can make sure he does not kill himself from his altruism… is either by putting him in confinement permanently, or help him."

Aizawa contemplated for a few seconds, before turning around and walking out of the break room.

Chiyo waited a few seconds before sighing and turning back to her pickles.

What would a heavenly pickle taste like covered in coffee…?

She would later regret that decision.

* * *

Shirou saw Aizawa enter the room again alongside Kenji and Tsukauchi. He was thankful actually, he didn't know if he could take any more of Yu's angry gaze.

Kenji sighed and gave a stern look at Shirou, "I'll be honest here. You've gone and committed acts of vigilantism twice, something that we have to punish you for."

Kenji took the psyche report from Aizawa, "Since you cant help but risk your life, it is best that you stay within our jail cells."

Shirou frowned, but he could not complain. He had brought this upon himself, his own decision and his own choice.

"Your probation ends early," Kenji stated. "You will be watched twenty-four seven, under strict supervision, and unable to step outside the police station until we find you an orphanage."

"Isn't that a little much?" Yu asked.

"This is as lenient as we can be," Tsukauchi somberly said. "If no orphanage is found by the end of the week… We'll have to send him to a juvenile correction center."

While Yu widened her eyes, Shirou did not, he had honestly expected it.

That was fine, he brought it upon himself, he could accept his punishment. It was fair, it was just, it was how the world worked.

Yu saw the acceptance in his eyes and grit her teeth. Something within her was clawing at the back of her head, something was telling her to do something… what was it?

"This is the way it has to be," Kenji said, "Sorry about this young man, but there are always consequences. It'd be different if you had a guardian or parent we could talk to, but easy solutions never show themselves,"

That was right, there was never an easy solution. Anything that was an easy solution was either wrong or had major repercussions down the line.

"On a side note, I guess now is as good as any to tell you that the blood results came in," Tsukauchi added offhandedly.

Kenji reminded himself to treat the man to a drink for changing the topic,

"Unfortunately there was no match," He said. The message was clear, the kid had no family to rely on. There was no one they could talk about custody to. "However the good news is that the lady you saved was fine! Her legs and arms were healed just fine thanks to Recovery Girl, so no worries there."

Shirou smiled and nodded softly, obviously pleased,

Something about that smile rubbed them the wrong way. Up until now, they didn't know why they would feel that, but now they had a grasp on his thought process… and they were honestly worried.

Kenji seemed to take a glance at Yu, whose gaze seemed to be elsewhere. Despite both of them staring at Shirou's soft smile, they were thinking of two vastly different things.

"For now, goodbye Shirou," Tsukauchi said, bowing and walking out. He was followed by Aizawa and soon after Kenji.

All that was left in the quiet clean hospital room was Shirou and Yu,

Yu took a few moments to stare at him, contemplating. "What is it?" Shirou asked.

A moment of silence passed and Yu sighed, "I was never good at making life decisions." She admitted.

Shirou rose an eyebrow at the sudden admittance. However, he stayed silent instead of questioning her.

"I've made friends but never once did they bother sticking around me after school ended, some wanted to date me to leech of my Hero fame." She said. "I should be a Hero out in the rural areas, where its easier to use my quirk and yet I'm in the city, where I'll mostly be a danger if I make a single misstep. I could destroy a building or crush a civilian."

Where was she going with this? Even she herself did not know, she just wanted to ramble.

"My personality is dirt poor, even my mother wonders where she went wrong. I love her as much as she loves me but I could tell there was something she wanted from me," She said. "I never gave it much thought. Our days spent together were mainly just me eating with her at home with her cooking. Relaxing with each other whenever we wanted."

Shirou squirmed slightly, feeling out of place at the sudden turn of events,

"She always struggled, always risked her health to work and pay for my education while I slacked off with my studies and hung out with my friends," She said. "A person like me should not have obtained success as a hero. I'm selfish, brash, and above all someone who should not be trusted with this much authority."

Even she knew that the original purpose of her rambling was lost, she ended up ridiculing herself in front of him… However, she gave a hard stare. "… But even I care for my own life. I have a sense of self-preservation that is ordinary in anyone but you."

Her original purpose was gone, but a new purpose arose.

"Tell me, Shirou," She asked, eyes not willing to accept a bad answer. "Why do you go to such lengths to save others…?"

Shirou steeled his resolve.

 _He remembered the fire, the raging flames and crumbling ashes of those around him, charred black and broken beyond repair were the people, yet he ignored them, all to save himself._

 _He threw away pieces of himself away to keep walking._

 _He threw away his memories when they tried keeping him there._

 _He threw away his pride when he saw someone helping another only to die alongside him._

 _He threw away his heart when he saw a mother crawl with her baby._

 _He threw away everything about himself in order to live._

 _He was a body that walked without a soul, unable to due simply because it did not know its soul had died. His empty body was filled with a promise from his father, someone who filled him with a wish, someone who gave him a smile to strive for. He was given a beautiful dream to fill his body._

 _There was nothing in him but that beautiful dream._

With finality, Shirou answered, "… Saving people was all I had left."

He watched as Yu gave him a long hard stare, contemplation far from her face as she narrowed her eyes, not in anger, not in frustration or in sorrow, but in determination.

She turned and left his room without another word, her mind already made up as she took out her phone and dialed Kenji.

There was nothing that could change her mind now.

* * *

Chained from head to toe, no room for movement.

Chains specially made for those with super physical enhancement quirks, chains that won't shatter under the greatest force. It was as if it was wearing a second skin of chains.

It did not roar, it did not growl, all it did was stare at the wall. It was all it could see after all.

It would not leave the room through brute force, it needed another way out.

It could not find his blonde target here, it could not complete its mission. This delay was all because of that _human_.

Never before did it think it could despise a human as much as it did now, and to top it off, the shitty body that he had bonded to had been wounded beyond belief.

Frustrations piled on and over each other as It raged silently,

"Hello there,"

It widened its eyes at the sudden voice. It did not belong to the guards that dealt with his cell, nor was it any of the heroes that brought it in. It couldn't turn his head to face the new voice at all, but it listened attentively.

"I offer you freedom. In exchange, you will serve my master." He said,

It frowned and let out a growl, it was all he could do with the chains restricting him.

"I suppose you wouldn't join just on the chance of freedom I see…" He toned. "Very well then, what else is it you desire?"

It rolled its eyes as he growled, unable to reply,

"My apologies, allow us to rectify this."

It rose an eyebrow, watching as a surreal black mist appear in before it. From within a pale hand reached out, touching the chain with all five fingers.

It widened its eyes as it saw the chains preventing its speech evaporated to dust.

"That was the ability of my colleague, an apprentice under my master." He said. "My master can help you in more ways than you can imagine, all you have to do is say what you want,"

It could not help but smile, straining its body's throat to emulate human speech for the first time.

" **N** _e_ **w** _b_ **od** _y_ ," It spoke with a scraggly smile. Almost like a dying man in a desert, throat parched yet filled with… _something._

It could feel the unease the intruder had as he heard its voice, but he showed his professionalism and ignored it.

It was an admirable trait.

"Very well. My name is Kurogiri, and my master welcomes you…"

The last thing It saw was the purple smoke enshroud his being, dragging him out of the accursed cell and off into who knows where.

It felt… familiar. It was almost as if It remembered being suspended in space, endlessly floating, no end in sight…

It- no, from within the void of the human Kurogiri's quirk. Much had nearly been revealed to him, his true nature and memories unraveling.

It was 'it' no longer, its name was… Angra Mainyu.

A bit of its- no, his past self-returned to him. Although the body is separate, the memories he had remained with him.

Just as he was about recall something more, his heavily chained body dropped onto the floor of a rickety old bar, leaving a sizable dent onto the mahogany wood.

He looked up and saw a man staring down at him, not in pity or arrogance like in most humans, but in childish curiosity.

This man… his face was covered by a severed hand. In fact, the majority of his body was covered in severed hands placed all across both of his arms, back, and nape.

"Well… ready for a retry?"

Angra Mainyu could only smile.

" **Y** _e_ **s.** "

* * *

 **Hopefully, the introduction will end next chapter as planned, I can finally move on and set Shirou into UA in a few chapters.**

 **Damn it I should be studying right now.**

 **On a brighter note, searching on My Hero Academia in the site and filtering it to English, most favorites and most follows shows this story as number 1 for some reason as of October 3, which surprised me enough to leap away from my laptop in shock and contemplate the meaning of a pineapple.**

 **I'll give a definite statement here, I won't update until next month so that I can focus on studies. It'll be a while before this will update so go ahead and read whatever else.**

 **Please report the grammar problems and any errors I have on Nasuverse lore. I can only learn if I am to be let known what my shortcomings** are **after all.**

 **Until November then I guess. (Or until I create time like Durandal makes a miracle)**

 **Edit/Update (25/10/17):**  
 **I've made minor edits to early chapters for the sake of consistency. If there are any more glaring errors or just minor pet peeves that you have about this story then mention them in reviews. I reply to the ones that bring up things that would concern me or reviews that genuinely help me.**

 **My Exams have ended and my semester break has begun. I'll begin work on the seventh chapter soon (A draft is already worked on) and should be ready on the first of November, possibly earlier if there aren't any complications.**

 **A\N 2: Huh... my format changed over the year, seeing as it's the 26/11/18 right now. Oh well.**

 **I made minor grammatical fixes alongside one error spotted by "Kritical K". That's it really.**

 **A\N 3: Kappa**


	8. Chapter 7 - A Sword Maintained

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Night had fallen upon the hospital room.

It had been a few hours since Shirou was told that he would be sent to a juvenile correctional center, however despite the passage of time, he could not forget the strange talk with Yu,

That moment was odd in all senses of the word, and what was even more odd was his own answer to her final question.

He did not regret his answer, not a single bit, however he started to wonder if he had triggered some kind of effect on her.

The seriousness in her eyes as she left told him of that.

In other news however, he did discover something about his circuits.

He had spent the few hours within the hospital room playing around with his prana, activating circuits individually and checking their separate prana outputs.

Totaling it all together gave him around double his normal circuit output, however due to the less than half number of circuits, he basically had less circuits than before.

Of course, he knew this before he went to fight the servant.

Another interesting topic, apart from his odd locking of circuits, a servant from his world had made it into this world.

The only question he had was how? How in the world did that occur?

 _Was there a portal somewhere that dragged it here? If so, then who was the original summoner of the servant?_

From what Shirou could tell, the speech impairment could be a form of Madness Enhancement, however that theory was very weak due to the fact that the Servant was operating on something close to E-rank stats.

Even madness enhancement would increase that amount into something more threatening,

So he could rule out the fact that it was a berserker, however the mystery of his class is still unknown.

The servant's name however, was not so obscure.

 _Angra Mainyu,_

 _Ahriman,_

 _All of the world's evils,_

In no way was such a being worthy to be a heroic spirit… and yet he became one. If Shirou really squinted, like really squinted, he could possibly see the connection and how he became a heroic spirit.

After all, he could not forget the thoughts that were held within the blades.

Those daggers essentially did not exist and were only given to Angra Mainyu as a way to fight in a grail war due to the fact that his legend mentions nearly no notable weapons. He was a person who was chosen to bear all the burdens of the world's evils.

He was a hero in a sense that his life was a sacrifice for the greater good.

 _A Martyr,_

Despite all the knowledge he had drawn from the two fang grinders, they did little to help the fact that he still did not know how he had gotten into this world.

Shirou frustratingly rubbed his head at a recent thought.

Even if he was undoubtedly the weakest heroic spirit he had seen to date, he was able to fight him head on with half his possible prana output for crying out loud, he was still a heroic spirit.

He was greater than any average man and through such, no prison should be able to hold him for long…

However this world did have some super powered beings capable of destroying a building in a punch, so perhaps they took into account the servant's power and mitigated it in a way? Possibly?

Even if a small part of him hoped that the servant would be trapped in a prison, starved from mana and soon to fade from existence, Shirou knew that nothing is always as it seemed.

He would have died in the holy grail war long ago if he still thought like that.

The servant, Angra Mainyu, will eventually escape, and Shirou needed to be ready for that.

Any further thoughts were shattered as he heard the hospital door's creaking.

Who could possibly be visiting at this time? Visiting hours were over after all, it was almost ten pm after all.

His caution and intrigue grew once he heard the foot steps, or the subtle sound of it, judging from the terrible attempt at stealth-

 _The person was sneaking in,_

Shirou traced Kanshou under his blankets, preparing himself against any possible assault…

… And then he heard a hushed whisper escape from the door way, "Hey Shirou~."

Instantly he recognized the voice,

How could he not recognize it when he had lived alongside that voice for almost a week?

"Yu-san, what are you doing here?" Shirou asked confused, his traced Kanshou disappearing from beneath the sheets.

Her mischievous head popped out from the doorway, allowing herself enough leeway so that the door didn't creak so much, allowing her inside as stealthily as she could.

Which wasn't very much, despite the trench coat she wore alongside the heavy frame black sunglasses.

Honestly Shirou was surprised the security didn't immediately detain her just because she looked suspicious, seriously she looked like a stalker with that face mask on her.

"I'm here for a very important question Shirou," She asked, turning her head to face the door and making sure no one else was around.

Shirou smiled in amusement as he saw the Pro Hero duck under the door's viewing window when a nurse passed by.

"And what question is that, Yu-san?"

"Well you see, I couldn't really ask this a few hours ago, I needed the other Heroes to be away," She started, "That Kenji, the dog man, he has really good hearing and he definitely heard what we talked about yesterday,"

It was less of them talking, and more her ranting about how she was a bad person,

"He didn't say anything about it, but I know he was giving me weird looks after the whole thing, so he must have noticed something wrong!" She reasoned,

What she didn't know was that Kenji was merely wrinkling his nose in her general direction due to the fact that she stepped on a garbage can while in giant form when they detained Angra Mainyu, and was merely expressing his displeasure at the scent.

"So in order for me to not draw attention," She said, to which Shirou congratulated inwardly based on how she managed to sneak in wearing such clothing, "I made sure that we were absolutely alone before you answer me,"

"Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?" He asked, "There are still a few days before the end of the week after all, so why not wait?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Because by that time it'd be already too late Shirou, _duh_."

 _Too late?_

 _Too late for what?_

 _Was there something that he was missing?_

Shirou could only sigh as he nodded, not even willing to find the page that Yu was on. For all he knew, the two of them were on very different books.

"Fine, what is it that you wanted to ask?" Shirou asked with a tired face, honestly wishing to fall to slumber already.

Whatever question she had, he was going to answer it swiftly and honestly so that he could get to his dearly desired rest.

With a rather intensely serious expression on her face, Yu asked her question, that she couldn't ask in front of the other Pro Hero and the two policemen,

"Do you want to be my kid?"

Suddenly Shirou knew why she waited until they were gone…

"What?" Shirou asked, just to make sure that his hearing wasn't in any possible way damaged from any possible concussion, if he had any.

She looked a tad bit annoyed, but only a tad bit seeing as the most prevalent emotion on her face was one of doubt and…

 _Worry?_

"I asked if you wanted to be my kid," She said, "Once I adopt you, I can find a way and make sure you wont get sent to a juvenile correction center… somehow. Not a hundred percent sure on the specifics yet."

That was reassuring,

But in all seriousness, Shirou contemplated the offer slowly,

He did not want to just straight up be adopted by the woman, especially since they basically only knew each other for a week, but on the other hand he did not want to be sent to a correction facility, not a single bit.

Rin might have teased him saying that he was scared about a few psychologists, but in reality it was more of a personal reason to Shirou.

While he could accept the fact he was being sent to a facility, it did not mean he wanted to go to one if he could choose.

His dream, his father's wish, and Archer's ideal… He could not risk throwing them away.

"Do I get to keep my last name?" Shirou asked genuinely, "Or will I have to become a Takeyama?"

Yu blinked at the question, "Ah… um, I admit I don't actually know…"

Were there any cases of adopting a kid with a last name who wanted to keep said last name despite the need for the parent and child to share a last name-

She already had a migraine just thinking about it.

It only took her a few more moments of contemplation, "Japanese people cannot have middle names unfortunately… I see why you're torn up about this,"

If her salvation came at the cost of no longer being a Takeyama, the name that linked her to her mother, she wasn't sure she would go for such a thing… Her mother would encourage it though, just so that she could be saved.

… but this wasn't about what her mother would want, it was about what Shirou wants.

"I suppose it's your choice, Shirou" She replied, prompting the boy to sigh and rub his chin in thought.

 _He was thinking hard about this wasn't he?_

That thought brought a rather somber smile to her, despite the familial dilemma he seemed to be facing. However a rather sudden morbid thought crawled into her mind,

Was she essentially forcing Shirou to give up his last name?

The more she thought about it, the more her question framed itself in a way that if he did not choose to give up his family name, essentially his only link to the past, then he would be sent to a place that would try to fundamentally break him down.

 _Was her question also breaking him?_

Yu frowned at herself. What could she do? How could she alleviate Shirou's mental struggle, it wasn't as if she could just keep both their last names-

Yu paused,

 _There's a thought,_

Would her mother care? Was it even allowed to maintain a last name in order to accommodate for a child's demand?

… You know what? Fuck it, screw the rules. She'll do what she wants! All Might even told her during the newbie Hero meet!

She was a Hero, she did _not_ settle for mediocrity! Fuck that shit,

"You can keep your last name Shirou, I'll keep mine too." She said, "I'll be Takeyama Yu along with a son named Emiya Shirou, if you want to that is…"

Shirou blinked out of his self-induced stupor. A Pro Hero was… screwing off the rules?

"Are you sure about this…?" Shirou asked, legitimately worried about her sanity.

"I'm fine! If the family court will have a problem then they can suck it!"

Truly, she was a master at colorful language.

Shirou sighed with a smile. What was there to lose now that salvation was staring him right in the face?

He said yes.

* * *

A few days had passed, leaving behind the troubles of the past and forward to the surprise of the future-

-If Aizawa had believed in such crap like that then he would have been happy at the morning.

No such luck there,

He had just finished all of the paperwork from the fiasco from two days ago and had been called to the police station, hopefully so that he didn't have to deal with altruistic brats any longer,

He stepped into the filled meeting room to find Kenji fixing documents with a sigh upon his dog features, making him admittedly look older than he was,

Tsukauchi had been leaning slightly into the brown varnished table, eyes drooping slightly as he took a sip of his coffee.

Lethargic and drowsy,

While such a state was not at all optimal, it was something that Aizawa could understand. After all he himself had just took a measly three hours to nap and rest from his nightly hero duties,

He knew it wasn't a healthy habit to keep, however his job and profession came first and foremost after all. He had to place his needs below the needs of the citizens, if he couldn't even do that then he would have throw professionalism out of the window a long time ago.

Last of all was the ever carefree Mount Lady-

Aizawa had to blink a few times, but ultimately reached for his eye drops at the odd sight before him.

Mount Lady, the ever carefree rookie Hero that always passively listened to all briefings without a hint of seriousness, but ultimately was a Hero that took it seriously if the situation was tense enough for her to do so.

So why in the world was she sitting in her seat with a composed and determined expression on her face? Was she finally deciding to take her Hero work seriously? What was the brown folder on her lap for? Did Kenji require her to bring some documents?

"Ah, Aizawa! You made it on time, _woof_." Kenji said, severing the sporadic trail of thought from the Pro Hero,

Aizawa gave a very passive nod to the police chief and took the neighbor seat to Kenji, hoping to not catch the drowsiness that the young police detective was emitting, however above all Aizawa was directly to the left of the out of character rookie Hero,

There was a reason here as to why she would have such an expression and Aizawa needed to know why.

"Now that we are all here, we can start with the final meeting in regards to the boy," Kenji said,

No one but Aizawa noticed that Yu tensed up further,

Wisely, Aizawa held back his tongue from whatever would have escaped his mouth. He was already confused to her behavior but this slight movement brought a revelation to him, no matter how minor of a revelation it was.

"To start things off I suppose I have to get this out of the way," Kenji said, "Mount lady, you alongside Ragdoll are relieved of your surveillance duty as of this morning. We have managed to find a suitable Orphanage in the next town over, the Musutafu children's home is too full to deal with new entrants so we are rather lucky that Hosu could provide one for us."

Aizawa mused within himself silently,

Right from the get-go? There must have been a lot of issues to deal with today, hence why Kenji was not wasting a single bit of his time with the brat's issues,

His musing stopped slowly as he realized that Mount Lady did not react, in fact she seemed to be closing her eyes.

 _What was she doing?_

"Mount Lady?"

It seemed that Kenji also noticed the odd reaction. From the few weeks that they knew her, she would be sighing in relief and kicking back in relaxation at the freedom that was handed back to her…

 _So why was she staying silent?_

"Did you perchance mishear me, _woof_?" Kenji asked, "Then I shall reiterate, you no longer need to care for the boy, that duty shall be passed on to the-"

"I believe you are wrong in that sir," Yu interrupted with a small bit of haste,

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at the rudeness, but withheld his tongue as he saw that Kenji wasn't offended whatsoever, but instead grew mildly interested, albeit with narrowed eyes.

"Really, _woof_?" Kenji said, "… And what in the world would draw that conclusion to you?"

They allowed Yu to take a deep breath before she answered, or rather before she opened the folder she brought along and placed a few papers down in front of them,

It was at this moment that Aizawa got a surprise,

"As of August 25, 20XX, I Takeyama Yu…" She said, steadying her breath as the next few words would make or break this meeting, "… Have _adopted_ Emiya Shirou,"

A few moments of silence,

A few measly moments of confusion,

A few measly moments of silent realization… before a torrent came pouring out,

" _Are you serious!?_ " Tsukauchi shouted, his fedora flying off and landing on the table in a rather violent manner,

Okay, it was less of a torrent pouring out and more of a bottle cap bursting out from a shaken cola bottle.

"I am a hundred percent serious detective," Yu said, as she turned the paper on the table and passed it to Kenji, who slowly took the paper and studied it at the same rate.

"Might I ask what drove you to do such a… such a…" Kenji said, struggling to find the right words,

Luckily Aizawa had those words for him, "-A reckless bullheaded act of tomfoolery?"

Kenji nodded, "Yes, _woof_. Yes that."

"I don't see how this is so confusing for you three," Yu said nonchalantly, but there was no hiding the increasing heart rate that she was experiencing.

As Kenji put down the paper, he rubbed his eyes, "It's legitimate, which I find extremely odd and almost impossible, _woof_."

"Why is that?" She asked,

"Because it took you at most a day to prepare these papers, obtain approval, ask Shirou if he wanted to be adopted, and have the papers signed by the Family Court," Kenji iterated, "It took almost no time at all compared to how normal hearings work, which is at least half a week at a good time. Did you even go through a proper channel?"

It was at this moment that Yu turned her eyes slightly away, "It was definitely a proper channel, but we had to speed it up to make sure that no time was wasted."

Within the few days until the end of the week, she managed to complete this?

"At the rate you managed to get them to sign these papers, I'm surprised that there was any time wasted at all…" Tsukauchi mumbled audibly as his eyes roamed over the paper, scanning it and finding no error-

 _Wait a minute._

"Mount Lady," Tsukauchi started, "Is this an error? The child's name is clearly Emiya Shirou, should it not be Takeyama Shirou?"

"Shirou didn't want his last name changed so I decided 'screw it' and forced that decision," She stated,

"How," Kenji plainly asked, "Just… how could you possibly?"

"It wasn't easy, of course," Yu admitted, "The family court official came to the hospital room nearly two days ago and we had to convince them. Shirou wanted a way to remember his past family via his last name and the two of us wanted to be a family."

A very audible sigh escaped her maw,

"The court agreed after a hell load of fanfare and it was around yesterday when the papers were finalized," Yu said, "I haven't done _that_ much paperwork and signing in my life,"

 _Not counting the signatures that she gave during fan meetings of course. Fans don't count as paperwork._

"And for what reason did you decide to go through all of that trouble and adopt the boy?" Tsukauchi asked, "You already have your Hero work to deal with, and you don't have anyone else to take care of him or keep an eye on him while you're on duty,"

"When that time comes, I'll deal with it," Yu said stubbornly, no doubt having not thought of that little tidbit,

Inwardly she just knew that even if she was busy with her Hero work, Shirou would be able to survive on his own in the apartment with his masterful househusband skills,

Aizawa sighed alongside Kenji,

"How, just how did you manage to realize this so quickly?" Tsukauchi asked,

"Never mind that part," Kenji interjected, "Since you've obtained custody of the child, I'd like to know how you plan to deal with the fallout? Shirou has undermined police authority by not informing us at all."

Aizawa swore he saw some sweat on Mount Lady's brow,

"Not only that!" Kenji added, his voice growing in tone without his conscious notice, "He has shown inability to follow the law and signs of altruistic behavior, which I'm sure you are aware is _very_ dangerous in our society nowadays where essentially every criminal and villain is _armed with a Quirk_ that they themselves know how to use?"

He took a moment to calm himself down,

"You are his guardian, or parent, whatever. So please explain to me how you can prevent these actions from happening again or we will continue on with our path of sending him to a suitable and reputable correction facility."

A few moments of silence as Yu fidgeted, clearly thinking hard on an answer and trying to create a scenario that falls within her favor,

Inwardly Mount Lady cursed, how could she have forgotten about such a detail!? She had honestly blamed it all on the paperwork. Paperwork was an evil entity that needed to be slain by a million fire flies. The evil thing must have sapped her brain power!

Kenji sighed in mild disappointment as her silence dragged on despite her rather active train of thoughts,

In all honesty, Aizawa was too. She came to the meeting fully ready to disrupt it with her tomfoolery and biased code of action and didn't even think of all the possible ways such a contingency would go wrong?

Maybe she wasn't cut out for this line of-

Kenji frowned, "Then this revelation changes nothing, Shirou will still be-"

… _I'd rather not send a youth there…_

Aizawa sighed loudly and dragged the attention to himself, interrupting the dog-head police chief as he tapped on the adoption papers, opening his mouth for his suggestion "I suppose we can place a tracking device around his ankle, as a way to permanently monitor his whereabouts."

Kenji momentarily turned to Aizawa in shock at his sudden show of support, and honestly so did Yu, who looked like she just returned from a day in despair,

"Aizawa?" Kenji muttered, "Did you just…?"

"Did I perhaps stutter? I suppose you need me to elaborate?" He said,

He received nods not just from the police chief, but from the young detective and the rookie Pro Hero.

Was it truly that odd that he showed his support?

Actually, on second thought it was. He switched opinion very quickly and he himself did not know why-

… _either putting him in confinement permanently…_

Mentally he cursed himself for being influenced to easily by the older Pro Hero.

"I suppose I'll say in in simplistic terms," Aizawa said, "If the brat wont listen to us then he wont listen to any correctional center staff. We shouldn't waste any of their time with a lost cause,"

A few people could feel that for some reason his advocacy of support sounded less like one and more like a mild rant,

"... So you're solution to this is to simply let him stay with Mount Lady and keep a tracker on him until further notice…?" Kenji asked,

Aizawa nodded, "That's exactly it."

"You're not joking, at all?" Tsukauchi asked hesitantly,

"I do not believe my sense of humor should play any part of a serious meeting,"

A collecting sigh of exasperation escaped the police duo, and a sigh of relief came out of the rookie.

"... This meeting was supposed to go longer than this, but the meeting is adjourned," Kenji stated with a slow stand, "Tsukauchi, file the paperwork for the ankle tracker and make sure it's the latest model. I on the other will be annulling the paperwork for the orphanage, that I just finished last night after drinking several cups of coffee…"

"I understand sir," Tsukauchi said as he followed his ranting leader out of the room, honestly feeling rather the same.

Soon only Aizawa and Mount Lady were left inside the meeting room.

Honestly the air between them grew awkward, that was enough reason for Yu to try leave-

"I have just one question for you Mount Lady," he said with his usual disconnected outlook and tired gaze,

However there was no denying the serious look in his dead eyes.

"Answer this question with the best of your ability or I will go up to Kenji and Tsukauchi and convince them to send Shirou to a correctional center. I have no qualms in taking back what I said in favor of this code of action."

Aizawa saw Yu pale and widen her eyes, but that was fine. He wanted to intimidate her to ensure she knows that he is not playing around.

"Why would you go through the trouble to adopt Shirou?"

Yu breathed in and out,

"That'll take a bit of time to answer," She admitted, steeling her breathing for the final time and stared back at Aizawa, who was already feeling impatient,

"I have lived with Shirou for a relatively short time and learned almost nothing about him," She started, "All I learned was that he was very good at menial house chores and knew how to cook a deliciously _delectable_ meal filled with flavor _better than any five-star chef can-_ "

"So it was just because you wanted a glorified house maid? A kid that would make meals for you?" Interrupted Aizawa with an irate gaze,

Mount Lady was obviously insulted and narrowed her eyes at Aizawa, " _No_ , even if it was that tempting, I wouldn't adopt a kid solely for that reason alone, Aizawa."

Aizawa lightened his glare and allowed her to continue,

"A glorified house maid you called him, but do you know what I saw?" She asked, but she did not wait for an answer and honestly Aizawa wouldn't have given one, "I saw a hard-working young man. I saw a good kid who simply did not know any better and a fool that would give his life at a moments notice,"

"That's exactly why we were sending him to a correctional facility," Aizawa interjected, "To not only punish him but to prevent his suicidal behavior from harming himself,"

"And would that have worked?" Yu replied, a strange feeling of oppression flowing out of her affecting Aizawa in it's wake…

… It was like a mother bear protecting it's cub,

"You said it yourself, Shirou wouldn't even listen to any of the staff even if we sent him there." She said, "Even if they did manage to succeed, they not be helping Shirou. They would be removing a part of him from himself, they would destroy the foundation of the person known as Shirou…"

"How are you so sure that this will happen?" Aizawa asked,

"Shirou told me himself," She admitted, "He said right to my face when we were alone in that hospital room,"

Aizawa admittedly rose an eyebrow in disbelief, but kept his mind open and tried to curb out the impatience that he had from earlier, to not interrupt her further.

"Shirou told me that _saving people was all he had left_. His Altruism is what made him, Shirou… Take that away and you take away Shirou." She said, "We cannot stop his altruism, we can only _help him_ Aizawa."

… _either putting him in confinement permanently, or_ _ **help him**_ _._

Damn it Recovery Girl…

"His altruism is a feature that I hate and right now I, more than anyone, want to make sure doesn't kill himself in his idiotic way of life." Yu said, "A correctional facility will not help, _not at all_. I can help him though, I can change him, in a way that those facilities never could."

Aizawa felt his skepticism rising and asked, "And what method would you use? How can you prevent the brat- Shirou, from killing himself."

When Yu stared at him, she answered from what Aizawa could tell was the bottom of her heart.

" _A mother's love,_ "

Aizawa blinked,

Something so simple, so inane, was what she wanted to base her help on? She wanted to use a _mother's love_ to save the kid? She wont use any other methods, _nothing else but a mother's love_ to prevent an altruistic kid from offing himself?

In all honesty Aizawa wanted to laugh out loud right then and there, but he didn't. No, if he did laugh then that would cement his place as a villain playing a Hero.

… could it work? Could such a method help the brat?

When Aizawa thought back to the report, in no way did he mention a significant mother figure that took care of him. He had two dead parents that he doesn't even remember, a dead foster father, heck even a guardian that acted as a big sister!

-But there was no mention of a Mother,

 _Was it that simple?_

Aizawa contemplated the answer as he rose from his seat and walked to the exit,

"Can I ask you a question instead?" Yu asked, to which Aizawa gave an acknowledging nod, "Why did you help? Why did you offer support and suggest the ankle tracker?"

Aizawa blinked and walked to the entrance, answering that question in a far shorter and efficient manner.

"I decided to trust in the judgment of my fellow Heroes." He was trusting Recovery Girl in her words of his evaluation, and now he was trusting Mount Lady in her bet on a _mother's love_. He swore that he sighed enough that he could see his bleeding heart…

Honestly, sometimes he wondered if he had compromised himself.

"The chance that the brat wouldn't drown in his altruism is infinitely high... however that chance was not a hundred percent. That's all it was,"

* * *

"Wake up"

That was the first thing he heard, however the next thing he felt was the impact of a fist driven into his sternum,

He could only gasp out in pain as his ribs strained against the pain

Where was he? The last thing that he remembered was…

A boy with a white sword, and his iron elbow rearranging his face.

He opened his eyes, the pain already fading, and took in his surroundings.

Broken old machinery, light shining through broken dusty windows, and dust absolutely everywhere on the floor. However what was most important were the eight to ten people situated all over, watching his movements, wearing masks all over their faces.

"W-where am I?"

"An abandoned warehouse, where else would you be?"

In hindsight, as the vaguely familiar voice answered him, he should have realized that little fact sooner.

Then again, he was tied against a chair with his tail tied down to a pillar by sturdy chains.

He wished that he was panicking, but in honesty all that he felt was a simple fear at the situation he found himself in.

"H-how did I get here? Who are you people?" He stuttered,

The only one to answer him was a man sat on a lush and comfortable couch, staring at him with cold dead eyes. It severely out of place considering their location, where a couch like that shouldn't exist.

"We brought you once you were released from the hospital," The man said, a bored expression on his face, "As for who we are… that does not matter at this moment. If you manage to answer my questions, then I may permit you that knowledge,"

Sasori slowly nodded,

"Good, to start us off we will just confirm something," He said, "You are Yarikaze Sasori, correct?"

He gave nod,

"Good, do you remember making a deal with the Yakuza a few years back?"

Sasori felt himself flinch as he remembered that part of his past… How could he forget? He had been their disposable money collector ever since that fateful night…

Another nod,

"Good, then you should know that your 'contract' with the Yakuza has reached it's deadline." He declared, causing Sasori's whole person to pale visibly, "And as per the agreement, since the money you borrowed for the medicine has not been returned _with interest_. I have been tasked with dealing your punishment."

There was only one word echoing within Sasori's head at the moment,

 _No,_

Sasori struggled against his chains, letting the rattling echo about the deathly silent warehouse.

 _No no no no no!_

"Calm down," The man said, his words having no effect to be honest, "There is no use panicking over what was written."

No use panicking? He had every right to panic! The ill thought out contract with the Yakuza had met it's end, his deadline ran out, he could not pay back the money he owe… and that only meant one thing.

"Please!" Sasori shouted, "Take me, you can cut me up and sell my organs!"

He remembered that contract very well, there was not a single moment within the last three years where he forgot about it… He knew it well, _especially the consequences,_

"Just don't touch my daughter!"

He felt his heart break as he saw the man roll his eyes, a complete lack of emotion within them.

"I'm not going to harm your daughter yet, don't try make me pity you with self-sacrifice." He said, eyes growing cold at the thought of it,

 _What?_

"What?" He muttered out, mouth mirroring his thoughts.

"While Pops would have you gutted by now and follow your wish to be sold in separate jars…" He said, "I, on the other hand, see no need for something like that."

Where was this man going with this?

"You have no need to worry, for you see Pops has no power over you now," He declared, "He died a few months ago, and I have taken his place."

Sasori could not help the widening of his eyes,

"Does this mean-"

"No, your debt has not been cleared yet," he interrupted, bringing a forlorn frown onto Sasori's face, "However since I now control the Yakuza, I have the power to fully decide what to do with you _and_ your daughter,"

Sasori felt his jaw tighten,

"You are to join under me and work as an Expendable, depending on how well you do your jobs will determine how long you'll live." He said, "Your life will be mine and in turn you daughter's continued safety will be secured, even if she doesn't know you exist."

Sasori swallowed a lump from his throat.

"I get what your saying…" Sasori said, sending his gaze downcast, "… but are you sure that you can protect my little girl?"

The man nodded in confirmation, standing from his sofa and walked slowly towards him.

"We have so far protected her from several unsavory figures from the shadows." He said, "She has no idea we have helped her and we will continue to do so unless you fail me,"

Sasori nodded, but closed his eyes reminiscing in a memory, "... How is she?"

"Her foster parents care for her well. She is living a rather fine life." He replied,

After a few moments of hesitation, Sasori let out a sigh as he recalled the vivid memories he had of her… Of when they lived in an abandoned home struggling to make ends meet.

… _Tatsumaki…_

She was in a better place now… In a better home that kept her well fed…

 _With a better father,_

"Fine, I'll join you."

"Good," He turned to a rather buff man wearing a plague doctors mask covering his entire face. To be honest, Sasori thought it looked a lot more like a bird mask.

"Get him loose and follow us when you're done,"

The large buff man nodded and walked around Sasori, breaking the chain's with bare hands.

Sasori stood and dragged his tail to hover behind his body, "What exactly do I do?"

The man stopped in his steps and merely turned his head to face him, "You will serve and protect me, give your life to me first and foremost. However most importantly I will need you to stealthily deal with anyone who threatens my life should they prove to troublesome to deal with normally."

"Stealthily? I'm not sure my giant scorpion tail can help with that,"

"I know, however it is not your skill in battle I want you for, but what comes with that tail of yours,"

Sasori frowned but nodded, already knowing what he was talking about. All scorpions had poison after all… and his was surprisingly lethal,

"I'll let your new comrade Katsukame introduce you." He said as he walked away,

Sasori turned to face the several masked people in the room, and only one of them stood and walked up to him, apart from the big guy standing behind him.

"'Sup man! As our illustrious leader has _*hiccup*_ informed you, we are the Yakuza…" The man…

… Was he drunk?

"... But we kinda have a different name that we use ya know?" he continued, not noticing Sasori's mental train of thought. "Anyway *hiccup* I'm Sakaki, I had a last name but I cant remember it at the moment!"

A man wearing a dark colored kimono and a plague doctor mask walked up to the drunk and steadied him.

Seriously do they all own over-sized plague doctor masks?

"I apologize for his behavior, for all of the time you will know him, he will undoubtedly be drunk." He said, "My name is Tengai and I suppose I have to continue off his last sentence… While we are Yakuza, our group is primarily named the Eight Expendables."

He let go of the drunk as soon as he steadied himself, who immediately grabbed a bottle from his pants and started chugging down alcohol like it was water.

"The large man behind you is Rikiya, and I suppose I can introduce you to the others later," He said, turning away and walking towards the exit used by the man from before, leaving a few parting words for him.

"Welcome to the Eight precepts of death,"

* * *

 **A new chapter after a month, well within expectations. Unfortunately my semester break ends at November 9, meaning I have a week to post another chapter before another hiatus.**

 **Whoopee**

 **In other news, I managed to finally get Shirou adopted, after racking my brain on how that scenario was supposed to work.**

 **Next chapter should be about settling in and Shirou's thoughts on staying in the world.**

 **Also I may have slightly lost my draft on the story but that's fine, I'll find it eventually.**

 **And also i'm farming the Halloween event for Fate Grand Order JP version and I haven't gotten a single Mecha Elizabeth copy and have completed less than half the quests meaning I am fucked.**

 **I've edited previous chapters a bit due to some errors mentioned, including overhauling the psyche evaluation scene due to some recent information coming to light.**

 **This was a mess of an A/N and I blame the Kilian Experience for infecting my mind with his voice and therefore making everything I write at this moment sound like one of his videos which in where was I going with this?**

 **Right, Hiatus... and school...**

 **On the bright side though, this chapter got out... I needed more content, so I added that extra part with the side OC, who wont reappear for a while. To be honest I wanted to wrap up the adoption within this chapter and had to try compress it, sacrificing quality for progression (I despise doing this),**

 **Oh boy I need a drink...**

 **Leave a review if you notice severe errors, have any minor pet peeves, or actually able to leave constructive criticism on a non-guest review (preferably without any random rude mannerism or words such as 'idiot' or 'dumb-ass') otherwise how else am I going to reply to you and hold a civil conversation in order to properly improve the overall quality of this story.**


	9. Chapter 8 - Sword in Serenity

**Chapter 8**

* * *

"Shirou? Can I come in?"

Shirou smiled at the familiar voice.

"Yes you can, Yu-san." He replied.

Yu entered the hospital room, wearing her usual Hero outfit and a shopping bag at her side. She had a rather tired yet joyful smile on her face, and Shirou could guess why. The meeting was only half an hour ago after all.

"How did the meeting go?" He asked.

"It was okay, Shirou. A little awry at some bits, but it went okay," She said, "Good news is that you no longer have to go to a correction facility…" Her face fell a bit, "… but bad news is that you are going to be tracked every single second with an ankle tracker."

"Did you suggest the tracker?" Shirou asked, genuinely curious.

She shook her head, surprising Shirou, "Nope, to be honest I had no idea what to do. I was so busy with the adoption papers that I forgot about that little tidbit. Thankfully Aizawa managed to help out with the suggestion."

Shirou nodded, feeling gratitude towards both the Pro Heroes, even if one of them was half the reason he had been detained in the first place.

"So Shirou, any idea when you'll be discharged?" She asked.

Shirou nodded as his smile held, "Yes, the nurse came in a while ago and said that once the doctor gives me a look, I'll be allowed to leave."

Yu smiled at that, "That's great! You don't have to stay in this boring hospital anymore!"

"… Ma'am, this _boring_ hospital requests that you tone down your voice so that you don't disturb the other patients."

Yu practically jumped at the sudden appearance of the doctor behind her, who was honestly shorter than a munchkin. "You surprised me-!"

However it was not just the doctor behind her, a pair of half dead eyes with a tad bit of mirth within them stared back at her.

"-Aizawa…?" Yu muttered, voice trailing off in mild confusion.

Surprisingly enough, the person in question nodded in confirmation as he took a glance at the minuscule doctor with mild irritation in his eyes.

"I apologize, it seems that it was a bad time for me to be here." He muttered just audible enough for others to hear, "I had wished to speak with the boy in private, but it seems that it is not possible at the time…"

"No, it is quite alright," Uttered the doctor, scratching his head as if out of habit as he said so, "My examination will take but a moment, a few minutes if you will. After that you may conclude whatever business you have."

Aizawa nodded promptly and moved to stand outside the hospital room.

This unnerved Shirou. He did not have many positive encounters with the Pro Hero, most if not all of their brief interactions were of the tired hero denouncing his altruism, granted he was correct in doing so, just as Archer had been before… but his reasoning still held, even if they were correct, the wish to save others was not wrong.

On the other hand, Aizawa's most recent endeavor consisted of him being chained to an ankle tracker as a most certainly better alternative to the correctional centers, so Shirou supposed that maybe he could hear him out, even though being in the same room made him squeamish a tad bit… Only a tad bit.

Yu sighed to herself, some part in relief and another in trepidation.

"Well then," The doctor started, jumping up to a stool next to Shirou's bed, holding a clipboard and pen quite loosely, "Let us begin,"

* * *

Aizawa yawned lightly and watched the hospital door swing open, letting the doctor walk out with his clipboard neatly tucked away,

"You can go in and conclude your business,"

Aizawa gave a brief nod and made his way into the room, calming himself as he mentally recited-

"Aizawa,"

-nothing at all seeing as someone stood in front of him, preventing his entry to the room. He rose an eye in question, hoping to find an answer as to why she was obstructing him without opening his mouth, which admittedly didn't work.

"What is it?"

He was regarded with a hard stare, not threatening but also not welcoming despite the 'help' he provided earlier. Granted, he had threatened to revoke said 'help' but he chose not to worry about that part.

"I'll only remind you of one thing," She said in an attempt to look intimidating, nothing like her mother bear act a few hours ago, "If you touch a hair on-"

Aizawa simple yawned loudly, rudely interrupting her, and causing her to twitch her eyebrow violently at the audacity.

"Don't worry yourself Mount Lady," He said after rubbing his eye as a tear threatened to fall out, whether it was from drowsiness or inner laughter he wouldn't know, "I'm just going to give him a few warnings and I'll be on my way."

Yu still looked skeptical, raring herself up for another go at him-

"It's fine, Yu-san,"

Both Aizawa and Yu turned to face Shirou, who had a soft smile on his face. Yu however did not share his smile and pouted as she gave a not so subtle glare at the lethargic man.

"… but Shirou!"

"I'm sure Aizawa-san wont do anything brash in a hospital, he is a Pro Hero after all."

Clear cut shutdown with solid reasoning, Aizawa could respect that. While Mount Lady was still grumbling to herself – mentioning something about being talked down by her own son – she walked out of the room, but not before giving another glare at Aizawa as she closed the door.

A moment of silence passed as Aizawa gave a stare, with the boy giving one back.

Once the boy blinked, Aizawa decided it was time to end that awkward piece of nonsense and spoke, "As I told Mount Lady, I'll only give you a few warnings. The first one is, do not under any circumstances, remove the ankle tracker that will be attached on you."

The boy nodded.

 _Good_

"I promise that the ankle tracker will be comfortable to wear so you don't have to worry about itches or something like that," He added, "The next warning is for you to not go out and repeat the vigilante stupidity."

The boy frowned, but nodded slowly.

"I'm serious about this boy," Aizawa stated, "It is both the job of the police and Pro Heroes to apprehend any and every villain out in the streets. Not yours, got it?"

"I cannot just leave people if they need help."

"Then call the police or a Hero to do the job," He countered, "There is always at least one Hero nearby, we have them spread across the city for a reason."

He saw the boy grit his teeth and nodded. Aizawa frowned and noticed that his words weren't driven home yet…

 _Damn altruistic-_

He loudly sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Brat, you do know if you go and perform another act of vigilantism, you wont just be sent to a correctional facility, but juvie as well."

Crimes will be punished, that was the rule of the society that they lived in, and even if the crime in question was not harmful in intention, it was harmful in more ways than one if it went even a slight bit wrong.

"If your stunt had failed then it wont just be you, but the civilian butchered across the sidewalk. In fact, you nearly were." He stated, ignoring the fact that Uwabami was not a civilian in anyways. however she was off duty and under prepared so she might as well have been one, "It is not just your life that matters. If you go off on another 'trip' then you will endanger innocent lives."

That little fact seemed to reach Shirou, causing him to flinch unwillingly, which Aizawa took as a sign to press onward.

"Do you get it now? Your reckless wish of saving a life will end up endangering even more lives on the chance that you will fail."

"I wont fail-"

"Your chance of failure is admittedly lower than a civilian's, but it is far higher when compared to the chance of a Pro Hero." He said, "Thinking that you can perform at a higher level than Pro Heroes is not only naive and arrogant, but unbelievably dangerous for all those involved."

Shirou's expression was falling, but Aizawa could tell that the boy was still struggling. So he sighed and rubbed his forehead, he was going to regret this choice in the future… but he needed to do this. If not, then he just knew the boy would go out on another 'trip'.

"… How about a compromise?"

Shirou widened his eyes at the sudden suggestion. Indeed, Aizawa could see why he would.

"In exchange for you to call Pro Heroes instead of going around like an idiot and save people left and right…" He said, Shirou twitching his brow at the insult, "… I'll erase your bad record."

"… and what will that do?" The naively altruistic boy asked, much to Aizawa's mental scoff.

"Simple, because you have this record, it is near impossible for you to enroll in any sort of Hero course."

"Aren't there other ways to become a Hero?" Shirou asked,

Mentally, Aizawa had to remind himself that this was a fourteen year old boy, most likely ignorant. "No there are not. The only possible way to become a socially acceptable Hero in the modern day and age is to graduate from a Hero school, something that your current mild vigilante record stops as of now."

 _Especially considering how_ _strict_ _most Hero Course standards are._

"What if someone needs help? Am I allowed to them if their lives are in mortal danger?"

'Like all the previous times' went unsaid,

"Yes you can, however if you throw a punch back then it is considered vigilantism. Putting yourself in harms way purposely is also not optimal," He said, "Try something non-lethal, to both the villain and you, as you call a Pro Hero to do the job."

Aizawa could see Shirou frowning, but ultimately he nodded in acceptance, which Aizawa found pleasing.

"Good, now that we have _that_ cleared up…" He said with a little mumble at the end, "… We can move onto the next topic… I'll have to offer you an apology,"

"An Apology? For what exactly?"

 _What?_

Aizawa had to blink a few times and make sure he wasn't drowsy. Was the boy serious?

"… You _do_ remember that I apprehended you out on sight?"

The boy nodded,

"… And you are okay with that?"

Another nod,

"… The apprehension led you to be detained and your current situation."

"You were just doing your job though?"

Aizawa swore his eye began twitching rapidly. He had gotten worked up over nothing it seems…

"… you know what? Fine." Aizawa stated, turning around and facing the doorway, "Remember brat, don't go and be a vigilante, wait until you obtain a Hero license. And before you ask, the fastest way is by getting into a Hero course. Goodbye brat."

"… Good bye Aizawa-san."

He let out a sigh as he exited the room… Now he had to do the paperwork.

* * *

As Shirou opened the door leading into her apartment, Yu could not help but rush past him in glee.

"We're back!"

Within less than a few seconds, she had tossed the brief case with the adoption files onto the wooden table and took a relaxing lay down on the sofa,

She had to admit that it was very comfortable even though she'd rather much be on her own bed right now, however, is she did go into her bedroom she was almost a hundred percent sure that she'd fall asleep in less than a second.

The day was stressful, not just physically with all the Hero work she had to do before returning home – leaving Shirou with Aizawa who took him to the police station for the ankle tracker – and also mentally stressful due to the amount of paperwork she had to fill out both from the adoption and the Hero work she had.

Seriously? Why did Hero work have to come with equally as much paperwork? She went with this profession to avoid time on the desk!

"Yu-san, please don't fall asleep on the couch. I still have to prepare dinner after all."

Outwardly Yu smiled and gave a thumbs up, however inwardly she winced as she watched him walk into the bathroom, no doubt to change into a more suitable attire – and cleaning himself – before he would concoct a meal that would make her stomach sing in joy!

… She had to remind herself that she adopted Shirou to save him, not for his food, no matter how enticing it is…

She let herself sigh as the reality of the situation fully hit her.

Takeyama Yu, the newbie Pro Hero that debuted only a few months ago, had adopted an altruistic kid as her son.

She immediately imagined what kind of backlash would happen from her own fans that wanted to get with her, married mothers were probably going to whine about her decision and a couple of older Pro Hero colleagues who disapproved her decision… However, the single mothers would probably support her choice, women empowerment, and all that stuff.

She did not regret saving Shirou, if she did then she did not deserve to be a Pro Hero, not at all.

Even if it did not outwardly show on his face, she knew that Shirou was happy with the arrangement… however, she was not as blind to miss the fact that Shirou was having an internal struggle.

He would open up in time, hopefully before whatever was eating him up inside broke him down hard, and when he did she would be there for him. If he wouldn't tell before it was too late then she could always 'discipline' him with her quirk after all!

She broke herself from her stupor and stood, taking a stroll to her room in order to prepare clothes and a towel for when Shirou got out, both for him and for her.

She couldn't sully Shirou's wonderful dinner with a dirty body now could she?

* * *

Shirou stepped into the kitchen, noticing that the cutlery and dishes haven't been touched despite Yu living for a week without him… which could only mean that she either cooked and cleaned – which was incredibly unlikely considering her track record – or she just ordered take out and let herself go.

He would need to change that.

Shirou heard the sound of the shower being turned on and mentally went over several things. First, the amount of time he had to cook before Yu finished her shower, which was around twenty to thirty minutes give or take. Second, the ingredients he had with him, judging by the fridge still stocked with groceries – S _he really ate fast food take out didn't she?_ – so he had a wide variety to choose from.

The only question was, what to cook? He essentially only had a restaurant's amount of time to cook a meal, and his pride as a chef wouldn't let him fail now, not after he had been deprived of the chance to cook for a week.

Shirou grabbed a pan and started to wash it,

He was definitely cooking some rice again since she didn't eat much lunch – also considering Yu had eaten junk food or a bunch of store bought salads and needed the extra sustenance – he would need something high in nutrition, yet filling for the both of them. He had not eaten anything he considered tasty in that hospital and Yu herself was tired mentally and physically…

If Shirou had more prior time then it would have been a grand dinner.

There was a some fish in the fridge, and quite a bit of seasonings… He could add an egg or two and… Yes, that would do.

In the kitchen, which had a center table to do the majority of the work, he grabbed a few eggs, some breading and butter from the store, a handful of dill and parsley– aromatic garnishes – a slab or cherry pink fish and two chicken breasts. He also had mayonnaise, two pickles, a lemon, a Champagne bottle that Yu had failed to hide, mustard, Capers from the mall – which honestly looked like bean-ish fleshy leaves – and of course the standard salt and pepper.

… It was almost funny actually, the person that adopted him – thus becoming his mother in the process which he was thankful for in all honesty – was lazing around until he would cook them dinner. Most households would have such an occurrence be in vice-versa with the kid waiting for a parent's cooking.

As Shirou took the fish, he relished in the cherry pink color, noting how it was still fresh from being in the fridge for a week at least. However, this wasn't just any fish… it was boneless, soft, and could be cut by a knife with absolute ease – if one was skilled enough that is.

This fish was known as Pollock, or more specifically a North Atlantic marine fish named scientifically as Pollachius – or at least that was what the book 'Fishes from all over the world' told him, given by Fuji-nee on his fourteenth birthday… It was also the first fish that he read about when he flipped the pages open randomly.

After setting the fish onto a chopping board, Shirou grabbed the knife and swiftly yet gently cut into the fish, making sure that they weren't to big or too small, but just right so that they would cook evenly.

Or as the recipe book said, make them look like fingers. Of course, he had tried other methods and tried making them look different or with a different size, but he found that this one would work best to his goals. Fluid knife work, methodical in a sense. From the tip, drawn down the fish to the knife's base, and a final small flick to move aside the fish so that he does not cut into it another time.

Once that was done he lifted the chopping board and gently rolled them onto a large plate, big enough to fit all eight pieces, which most would see as just too much.

However, considering how much Yu wanted seconds during their last meal, Shirou took a precaution and bumped up the numbers. There was admittedly more work for him, however, a greater satisfaction would be achieved through it. If people enjoyed through his hard work then he would not mind working for eternity.

Once the soft meat was set and neatly arranged, Shirou grabbed the salt and rained it down upon it. Not too much, but not too little either. Why salt the dish before hand? The answer was to firm the fish up, so that it becomes more easier to handle.

All in all the fish was done for now, he needed to set it aside for twenty minutes so that the firming process goes unaffected. That was fine, it wasn't the main dish, so he could focus more on the actual one.

The next part of the dish would be just as easy to fulfill. Although he was sure it was going to be just as hard to prepare.

Tonkatsu, however not made with pork since the local butcher had ran out due to them being late – which Yu whined about for a solid minute – and so they settled with the chicken breast.

Shirou grabbed both chicken breasts and placed them on the table. He inhaled slightly and placed his knife on one of them, the side of it racing upward. Like this, the knife wouldn't cut anything however that was fine.

Shirou raised his fist and pounded onto the side of the knife, not hard enough to break and ruin the breast under it, but not too light to create no effect. Repeatedly he tenderized the meat, moving on to the other breast and repeated the process.

Normally he would have salted it like with the fish, but luckily the butcher had some breasts which he had salted a couple of hours before hand so the meat was already firm. The moisture wouldn't leak out as much when Shirou finally cooked them.

He had some time before the fish properly firmed up, so he grabbed the rice cooker and simply cooked the rice, knowing that the rice would finish up in around eighteen minutes. He didn't really want to add anything to the rice this time, and he was still unsure on how yellow rice would work in a Tonkatsu, but he supposed that he could experiment with that on a later date.

Shirou grabbed the chopping board and placed it on the table, grabbing the ingredients and got chopping.

He admitted that he traced the knife of a renowned chef from his world to thinly dice the parsley, two pickles, and the capers into a pile. Using a shredder and grinding the lemon on it for some lemon zest, before cutting it in half.

Shirou placed all the cut objects into a bowl, and squeezed the lemon above it, making sure that each half of the lemon was squeezed dry, not letting the seeds fall in the mixture. Shirou grabbed the mayonnaise, and poured the entirety into the bowl, which wasn't all that much considering how many sandwiches Yu seemed to like to eat at work, only around two thirds a cup. He also decided to throw a bit of dill on it, and of course, the well loved salt and pepper.

Shirou merely grabbed a spoon, and began stirring the mixture, ignoring the uncomfortable slushy sound it made while he did.

Once it was done, Shirou set it on the center table and got ready for the next objective.

Next Shirou grabbed the egg, cracking it into a bowl, whisking swiftly, before finally pouring it onto a plate. He wasn't going to cook with it yet however, it was going to be used elsewhere. He set another plate and filled it with the store-bought bread crust breading, but he wasn't just going to use it like that. So Shirou grabbed the dill and spread it on the breading, adding a green look to it and making it more visually appealing when the cooking would be finished. A final plate, yet the most important, was set with purely white flour spread within it.

Shirou grabbed the tenderized and salted breasts, and gently rolled them within the flour, coating them properly making sure that no edge or corner was left uncovered. Doing this will allow for the future breading and egg to remain on the chicken.

Speaking of the egg and breading… Shirou swiftly and efficiently coated the breasts in egg, and finished up the dill breading coating, bringing a beautiful visual appeal to it even when it was still uncooked.

He was sure that twenty minutes had passed and grabbed the fish, repeating the process with the Pollock and rolling it within the flour, so that it rounds up and becomes evenly coated. He did the same with the egg and breading, rolling them like he was trying to extend a mound of clay.

Both the fish and the chicken were covered, and now it was time to finalize them.

Shirou washed his hands lightly and reached for two pans, pouring the vegetable oil within each of them, only filling the bottom in a thin layer, and grabbed the coated fish. Four fish fingers were gently placed on each pan, methodically arranging the fish on the pan so that none of them stuck to each other upon being fried.

They would serve as appetizers for Yu when she finally got out of her bath. Hopefully, Shirou would at least have two fingers by the time her appetite would gouge through them.

Once Shirou saw that the bottom of the fish had gained a golden brown color, Shirou grabbed simply reinforced his hand – seeing no reason to grab a set of clippers – and flipped the fish a hundred and eighty degrees, so that it would cook on the other side to the same golden brown shade.

Shirou was no amateur, and didn't forget to grab the butter he had prepared beforehand – no doubt already at room temperature – and cut some small knobs of with the knife, dropping them evenly on the oil covered pans and allowing the butter to melt, mixing with the oil and further increasing the savory flavor of the fish.

"Shirou?" Yu called from within her bedroom, no doubt already done with her bath, "I've nearly finished up here."

"I've prepared an appetizer! The main dish will be done in a few more minutes!"

Judging form the hurrying sound of footsteps, Yu had forgone any sense of fashion and ended up rushing into the kitchen, minor clouds of dust rising from her speedy footsteps – she didn't clean the floor did she?

"Where!? Let me help!"

She certainly reminded him of Taiga, although instead of letting him do all the work she decided to aid him. Perhaps it was the Hero within her?

"The fish fingers are done," He says as he grabbed the clipper, not willing to show Yu his reinforcement just yet, and grabbed the fish fingers, setting the eight of them perfectly balanced on the plate. "Set them on the table and come back here to help with the chicken."

From the way Yu looked at them, Shirou just knew that she was enjoying the way the fish seemed to glisten in the light like jewels. In all honesty, Shirou didn't know why every dish he cooked ended up looking better than in the cookbooks. Even the fish fingers appeared as golden beauties with rich emerald dill spread around it.

Yu happily took the fish of her hands and place them on the dining table, coming back in time for Shirou to grab the slabs of chicken and place them on the frying pans, cooking them both at equal speeds.

"You know you look like a little master chef like this right?"

Shirou took that as a compliment and smiled as he measured the chicken, feeling a sense of pride as it was the same golden color as the fish fingers.

Judging by the drool that seemed to impact the floor, Yu did as well.

Shirou flipped it, revealing the dark brown, an almost _golden_ sheen on it. The best part was that the left over butter was still on the pan, so he didn't need to add anymore, saving the substance for future occasions.

Shirou grabbed some dill from the center table and sprinkled it lightly on the chicken, just so that the fish had some green on it. Aesthetics made the brain assume that it tasted better than it did, which was the main reason why presentation was treated highly among chefs.

Upon hearing the ding, Shirou left to the rice cooker and grabbed it, heaving so that he could place it on the table.

Apparently, his small stature wasn't as strong as he thought so he began tipping, almost ready to fall on his side and ruin the rice.

However thank the small things in life, as Yu had appeared and grabbed the cooker, placing it on the center table with a cheeky smile on her face, "I got the heavy work tough guy, don't worry."

He let the smile stay on his face as he sighed, "Thank you Yu-san, our dinner seems to be saved."

"I'm a Pro Hero!" She declared, slapping a palm on her chest, "We save things… people mostly but who cares about semantics?"

However, it seemed that Yu didn't really notice him leaving her line of sight and grabbing two rather fair-sized bowls, filling them with rice while leaving an indent on top.

This was were the magic happened.

Shirou used the clipper and grabbed a slab of chicken, placing it on a bowl of rice and allowed the buttery juices to simply _drip_ in-between the rice, enriching the flavor and savoriness of the dish in general.

He grabbed the bowl, along with a pair of chop sticks, and handed it to Yu, "You can go on ahead and eat, I'll be there in a bit."

Yu happily nodded as she accepted the chicken Tonkatsu, hurrying on to the dining room and placing it there, relishing as she looked at the eight fish fingers and the savory dish she had in her hand…

Shirou did his best to ignore the drool that once more flowed despite her desperate attempt at denying it freedom. He walked in with his bowl and sat opposite to Yu, "If you need more rice, the rice cooker still has some left."

Yu nodded her head, but clearly, she wasn't listening as she grabbed the fish finger and took a gentle bite – scratch that she chewed quickly and swallowed. Judging by the despair on her face, she didn't want that to happen.

"It tasted so good that I ate it quickly… again,"

"I suggest you try it with the tartar sauce,"

"Tar- what now?"

All Shirou did was simply point to the mixture that he brought along, a white sheet with some black and green mixed into it. In a way, it looked very appetizing,

Yu swallowed her saliva, used the bitten fish finger and dipped it. She took a bite, ready to taste the flavor-

Shirou swore that the fish finger was still in her hand a second ago.

"Damn it Shirou! How am I supposed to keep a great figure with the A-class gourmet you're pouring out?"

"Exercise and hard work,"

Inwardly Yu admitted defeat, before grabbing another fish finger, giving Shirou the evil eye while he ate his godly cooking without a slight shift in expression save for the cheeky smile he had.

A fish finger and tartar sauce. The fish finger was delicious in it's own right and could serve as it's own dish, but with the tartar sauce, it takes on a whole new taste, almost like a new world had been born in that exact moment.

Damn it! Her pride as a mother was dying – or was it growing? Should she be proud or disappointed that her adopted son was a better cook?

The sweet and savory tang of the sauce, paired with the soft yet crunchy fish… She needed another bite.

Once the delicacy was ingested, her stomach growled in protest, but she knew that it didn't want another finger just yet… the Tonkatsu was there.

Tonkatsu generally meant a pork cutlet, but it could be cooked with chicken in it's stead. When she took in the aroma, she nearly died right then and there from the scent alone!

When her stomach threatened to release another growl, she took a bite out of the chicken-

 _Juicy, soft, and savory_

She loved every second that she took to chew it, but luckily retained enough brain power to grab rice with the portion, letting the juices in the rice enhance the feeling in her mouth like a fire through a forest… not really a good analogy.

She took a glance at Shirou, who was merely smiling in pride at his dish being eaten… she really did have mixed feelings about that…

Upon taking more bites, she paused, taking a glance at the tartar sauce and the Tonkatsu…

Before she could try the combo, Shirou opened his mouth, "I suppose now is a good time to tell you that Aizawa offered to erase the bad record,"

Yu blinked before turning away from the tartar sauce, a puzzled look on her face, "What? He did? Why?"

"He said that having the mark on my record would give me a hard time in enrolling in a Hero course."

Yu seemed to narrow her eyebrows in thought, taking a bite from her Tonkatsu, "That's nice of him… It's true that it would be hard for you to enroll in one if you did… wait, you want to go to a Hero course?"

Shirou nodded at her stunned expression – not stunned enough to stop a fish finger from being eaten though, "Yes. It was Aizawa's suggestion. I should avoid saving people as a vigilante and instead do it when I own a Hero's license… and he said that the fastest way to obtaining one was by enrolling in a Hero course."

"That's definitely… blunt," She said, "Any idea why Aizawa would suggest that?"

"He most likely didn't want to deal with my vigilantism anymore."

True, Aizawa was bunt and pragmatic like that, Yu honestly couldn't see another reason-

 _I decided to trust in the judgement of my fellow heroes_

"Yeah, it was probably that reason…"

… Perhaps there was another reason entirely? She couldn't really say that she knew how Aizawa thought every step of the way, but from what little she knew – and what her fellow heroes told her – he was lazy and pragmatic.

Removing a bad mark on Shirou's record would take too much time and paperwork to actually do, not to mention some legal ramifications… Add that to the fact that Aizawa is lazy, so there must have been a reason to why he did it, not the reason that Shirou thought up but probably something close. The man was pragmatic in a sense that All Might was unbeatable.

 _Which would never happen, like anything could_ _ever_ _beat the Symbol of Peace._

Ah Screw it! There was food from the cooking god right in front of her and she wasn't going to let it get cold!

"Let's leave all the troublesome stuff for later and eat!"

Shirou luckily obliged to her wishes and simply ate the Tonkatsu, but there was no denying the soft smiles the two of them wore as they ate through their dinner.

It was quiet, the only sounds that escaped was from the spoons and forks, the sound of chewing, and the humming of satisfaction.

It was peaceful… An enjoyable silence that only served to bring attention to the emotions that each of them felt. Shirou did not know what emotion he was supposed to be feeling, but just from the smile on Yu's face, he knew that Yu was within a world of her own.

"Shirou," Yu started, breaking the comfortable silence that existed between them.

"What is it? Yu-san?" Shirou asked, genuinely curious about what would distract her from her inner thoughts.

A soft smile, softer and more kinder than what was there before, that was all that she wore on her face, the light make-up that she wore during the day having faded completely. There was only a sense of serenity around the young woman, who stared at him with something that he was sure that even Archer wasn't familiar with.

"No… it's something cringe worthy, don't worry about it…" She shook her head slowly, diving a piece of Tonkatsu in her mouth,

Shirou didn't seem to think so, and from the way he rose his eyebrow, she could tell that as well.

"Yu-san, I won't cook for you again if you don't tell me,."

He was going to ignore the fact that the non-serious threat actually worked and made Yu nod furiously.

"Fine! Just don't cringe when you hear it…"

Shirou nodded, it wasn't as if he saw more cringe worthy things, whatever cringe actually meant that is. He had heard Issei and Shinji mention it a few times but never did they explain what it meant.

Yu took a subtle breath, and gazed at Shirou with the same soft smile as before – no, in fact, it seemed kinder than before… what was with that smile?

"… Welcome home, Shirou."

Whatever remaining thoughts on Shirou's mind faded… however, he could not shake the mysterious warmth that slowly crept up from within himself, even if Shirou himself did not know what in the world that warmth was

* * *

Shirou stood over the admittedly still dusty bedroom, a broom and dustpan in hand.

He had slept on the sofa once more, with Yu saying sorry for not actually remembering about cleaning the guestroom, with Yu apologizing last night about forgetting to clean up.

However that was fine, Shirou basically gained the right to do what he wanted in her house when she adopted him… Which no doubt included the right to clean her home and cook the food.

Normally, any sane child would complain at having these chores thrust upon them, but for Shirou, they were a method to relax and take things easy, especially since he had technically been a war for more than a week ago…

As Shirou swept the dust away and into the pan, he grew somber as he recalled the faces of his servant, no doubt still contracted to Rin.

 _Rin_

There was another topic he had yet to think of lately and he wished he could beat himself over the head for legitimately letting the topic slip from his mind.

It wasn't that he meant to temporarily forget, the bombardment of incidents had made his mind drift to other more pressing topics such as being in a separate world, being on probation, taking care of dinner for the two of them, and the fact that a servant was also in the same world as he.

No, those reasons didn't excuse his thoughts, even if Rin would forgive him and just call him an idiot.

Remembering the days they spent during the dull moments of the war, made him admittedly depressed. He wouldn't be able to hear her laugh, unable to listen to the way she admonishes him, but more importantly unable to save her when she needed him…

Once more he let out a sigh, putting aside the broom when he finally noticed that the room was spotless. Had he been so lost in his thoughts about Rin that he didn't notice?

To be honest, that single realization wasn't the best thing to have… He still cared for Rin, longed to be with her once more… However there was simply to many factors missing for Shirou to actually be able to return to her.

He had no way to return home, he had no way to return to his original age, and above all he had no way to even contact her. If he still had her prana with him then it could be possible if he experimented for several years… but even he knew that was a fool's errand.

Was that why he decided to be adopted? Was that why he chose to stay in this world? Did he even choose in the first place or was everything an outcome of circumstance?

He didn't know, and he knew that even if he had waited until his death bed, he wouldn't know why he chose to stay in this world without trying to find a way back… Maybe he should focus on going home-

 _Welcome home, Shirou_

Shirou let a soft smile rise from within himself despite the conflict he felt.

Was this his home, as much as the Emiya estate is? They were separated by a dimension of difference… yet why is it that he found himself struggling about choosing which one to prioritize?

Which world meant more to him?

He could not answer that question just yet, maybe not even come close to finding an answer… and to be honest,

He wasn't even sure he wanted an answer.

After a moment of gathering his bearings, he noticed something different…

Why was he in Yu's room?

Subconsciously he must have walked into her room, having adopted the habit of entering the bathroom that existed right next to his room back in Fuyuki, he walked along the same path which coincidentally lead him to her room.

He sighed to himself… had he already considered this place as much as home as the Emiya estate…?

He saw Yu rustle in her bed, shifting the sheets off of her to reveal a set of hello kitty pajamas.

Shirou would have let a soft chuckle loose, but the mumbling from Yu afterwards kept it shut. "Shi… rou…"

He let a soft smile once more grow on his face, walking towards her and dragging the blanket over her form. She was sleeping, it would be rude to awaken her.

"Rest well… Yu-san,"

Some part of Shirou knew, just knew of the slight feeling of oddness within him, that he didn't feel like Yu-san was the right way to refer to her as now… What else could he try, there was a sense of attachment that grew and he wasn't comfortable with another elder sist–

He truly was an idiotic blockhead.

"Rest well… Mother."

The phrase felt… odd, on his tongue. He wasn't really sure what to make of it. It felt off on a surface level, but it also felt a tad bit… right. Was this something he was supposed to be feeling? He never actually had a mother before, so perhaps this was something he was supposed to be feeling… then again, it could also not be.

The last remaining sound from within the room was the creaking of the slowly shutting door from the boy with a subtle turmoil to his thoughts.

* * *

 **A/N: Apologies for the long wait... I've had to deal with issues in real life, some still unresolved as of the time of upload, but I'm still willing to atone for some mistakes that have been made. That previous sentence will hold different meanings depending on who read it, but I hope the message was transmitted clearly.**

 **This chapter is only slightly longer than usual, despite my wish to lengthen it to at least double (will try that for next chapter but no promises), but I felt like this was a good place to end it.**

 **On another note, I don't condone flaming, to me or to any other person on this site. If they're doing something you don't like, don't send them a billion PM's detailing what's wrong with their story (or just plain and simple rude remarks), instead be constructive with your criticism and use the review system as intended, to help the author learn what their shortcomings are and how to improve them as intended, in a calm and professional manner (hypocritical coming from me concerning a recent life issue) but the meaning still stands strong.**

 **I will truly try upload another chapter (now that I've recovered my draft), just leave a review on what errors I've committed (no doubt there are a few) and make sure to be constructive in how to aid the author as a person.**

 **Remember, Author's are people to, we have lives and we don't churn out chapters whenever you feel like you want one, no matter how much I sympathize with that feeling.**

 **A/N** **2** **: I've read some reviews, and noticed a hell load of errors so I've edited them when they were mentioned, like the continuity error of Yu still being in the house when earlier mentioned that she left.**

 **Yeah... the cooking scene.**

 **I admit I went overboard, I have no idea when or how I did, but I wrote it out and it just happened. I thought it would be interesting to show Shirou cooking for once, but I guess it would have been better at home in a Shokugeki no Souma fanfic (no I'm not writing one). So I'll turn down the dial that I've set to max for future chapters and set the cooking to passive mentions.**

 **Sincere thanks to people that gave away the errors and mentioned the fact that the cooking scene was too long.**

 **Wow that felt embarrassing, I enjoyed the cooking scene too much that I didn't notice it was almost half the chapter... actually when I checked it was like 1.5k words so maybe like a sixth? But considering the human attention span, it would stand out the most in actuality... yea I won't write another cook scene unless I'm writing Souma.**

 **Again, many apologies.**

 **A/N** **3:** **I've set up a poll on my account to decide whether or not to cut out the cooking scene entirely or move it to be like an Omake, (will be edited so that the story flow is still the same)**

 **A/N** **4** **: I edited the last scene because it felt just a tad bit wrong to me as time went on. Also minor grammar fixes.**


	10. Chapter 9 - Sword at Dawn

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Right now, Yu sat silently in her living room, watching a technician clap a tracking device around Shirou's ankle.

It wasn't as bulky as the earlier models from the last century. It was light and looked less like a tracker but more like a steel band that existed in fantasy novels, except with advanced circuitry wrapped within each and every single opening possible.

The circuitry wasn't easy to break or damage, however, mostly due to the efforts of the Musutafu Police Force who had nothing better to do while the Heroes were catching Villains.

"There we go," said the nameless technician who she didn't really care to remember, "The anklet is attached. No matter where you go within Musutafu, we will be able to find you. The alarm will ring once you stray too far from the apartment complex."

Shirou nodded, "Thank you,"

"Thank you? Well, that's a first-"

"Can we get down to business?"

Yu had to frown at the person sitting in her favorite spot on the couch, "Are you always in a hurry, Aizawa?"

The man nodded, but not after taking a sip from his tea, which he still had because he rationed it and didn't drink it all down in one gulp as she did. "I'm on a tight schedule, I still have plenty of paperwork to do,"

"Then why aren't you doing them?"

"Why aren't you doing yours?" he retorted,

She had a reply… somewhere, but the look on Shirou's face told her to just let it go. Reluctantly Yu had to oblige, but not before sending a nasty glare towards the couch thief.

One might be wondering why he was here – in her home and drinking from her favorite cup and sitting in her favorite spot. The main reason given by the top dog chief was that he was to ensure that Shirou didn't use his quirk on the poor quirkless technician.

Not that anyone believed that particular line of reasoning,

Which only meant that Aizawa was here for an entirely different reason, and whatever it was Yu would find it. Even if it meant looking like an idiot – in her own home for crying out loud.

"As I was saying…" Aizawa continued as if he wasn't interrupting anyone, much to her displeasure, "… Kenji has managed to annul the orphanage papers. The matron was originally confused, but she was definitely glad that you got adopted so quickly."

Well wasn't that nice of the matron? Well actually it was expected, most matrons wanted the best for the kids that they take care of, and knowing that she hadn't ever met Shirou, meant that she was a woman of character.

That, or she didn't want to be taking care of more kids…

"So no more issues with the orphanage?" Yu asked one more time for clarity.

Aizawa nodded, watching the technician leave Yu's home, having another appointment elsewhere.

"Yes, but now onto more pressing matters…" Aizawa started trailing off, "In regards to Shirou's education, what will you two do? As of this week, the regular school terms have ended and summer break has begun."

 _Eh?_

Yu had to take a few moments to realize what Aizawa said.

 _School! Shit!_

 _Wait a minute he has an ankle tracker! How does that work!?_

However it looked like Shirou noticed her mental breakdown, so with a sigh he turned his attention to Aizawa and started talking, "Aizawa-san, how am I supposed to go to school? I'm not allowed to go anywhere farther than several blocks of this apartment."

Which was true, when the ankle was installed, they programmed it to automatically alert the Musutafu station. The only places that Shirou could go to unhindered were the mall, local convenience store, and of course, there was her Hero office.

"That is true, that is why we decided to ask you two on what you wished to do." Aizawa said, "As of now, there are no normal schools in the nearby area for him to attend, so that leaves only one choice-"

Yu bounced at the chance, "What is it!?"

"… so that leaves only one choice," Aizawa continued as if he wasn't interrupted… again, "Have him homeschooled, it'll be costly however and not to mention expensive with your current salary as a rookie Hero."

 _Gah!_

"Aizawa-san, you said _normal_ schools, correct?" Shirou asked, dragging Yu's eye with minor worry, "So that means that there is one close by that I can attend, but it's not a normal one… is it?"

He nodded,

"So, what school is it?" Yu asked,

"… I'm surprised you don't know Mount Lady," Aizawa muttered, "The nearest school is U.A, the school with the number one Hero course in the country."

The moment those words left his mouth, Yu drifter her eyes to look at Shirou… she didn't look solely at his expression, she learned that using that to judge his emotions was like using a brick to judge the softness of her bed.

She didn't notice anything off… in fact, rather it seemed to be indifference.

Didn't he want to be a Hero?

"Shirou?" She hesitantly called out,

The boy in question sighed lightly and stared at Aizawa, unmentioned words being exchanged by their eyes alone… Which annoyed Yu enough to clap her hands, breaking whatever goo-goo eyes they were making.

"Shirou? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Yu-san…" He started, "… It's just that I don't see why Aizawa was so hesitant in mentioning U.A. to us,"

"Simple," Aizawa said, "I don't want to spend several months trying to train an altruistic brat to behave himself."

Oh so that was it, he didn't want to… Wait, what? Several months? Why would he be in a school for several months? The only ones that stay at school for that long except for the students were–

"Aizawa! You were a teacher!?" Yu screamed out, nearly breaking his eardrums.

"… Yes, I am. I have been for the past few years." He stated, rubbing his poor ears for clarity, "Next year I am to be a homeroom teacher of one of the U.A. Hero course classes. Which class however I do not know yet."

Eh… He was a teacher all along? That would explain why he seemed to be content in explaining stuff all the time to the other rookies… Wait a minute,

 _U.A? That was the closest school? That's… good, right?_

"Why would you not want him to go to U.A, Aizawa? I'm sure that the Pro Heroes would be a positive influence," She reasoned,

This was true no matter what angle you look at it from. Not just Aizawa, but the rest of the Hero staff would no doubt help him with his suicidal behavior…

… So why was Aizawa hesitating?

It seemed that the ever tired Hero noticed the question that they held in his mind. "Fine, the main reason I didn't want to mention it was that I worried about the influence he could have on the rest of the students."

Influence? What did he mean by–

Oh… _that_

"You were worried that my altruistic behavior would affect them?" Shirou asked with a neutral expression on his face – like as always.

"That is not all," Aizawa continued, "There is a chance that your tendencies could drag you into trouble with Villains. We are a Hero course, after all, our students will be training to deal with them, so your behavior would inevitably influence your future classmate to think that it is okay to be reckless."

A cold hard yet neutral glare held it's view on Shirou.

"U.A. does not and will not encourage this behavior, no doubt about that. Should you enroll in U.A. then we will try drag that altruism out of you if it's the last thing we do."

Despite Yu's withheld rage at Aizawa, she could see no fault there. A school was meant to protect their students, to nurture and cultivate them until they were ready for the real world no matter what course they were attending… To let a student continue in his altruistic ways would go against every principle that modern schools are founded upon.

If Shirou joined… They would curb the behavior out of him even, otherwise, how could they call themselves a school?

"That's fine with me," Shirou said.

"What?"

Yu didn't even notice that she blurted that out until it was too late, but Shirou didn't seem to see the wrong with it. Why was he supporting the choice to go to a place that removed his altruism?

Sure, Yu wanted to remove it too, but she would use a slow and gradual approach with motherly love, something that he never had. Hell, even Aizawa wanted to see if her method would work.

"Unlike correctional facilities, U.A. won't forcefully try to remove it," Aizawa stated, "You're betting that we will still maintain the individuality of each student. If your reason for living is to save others then the least that a school would do is lessen the damage… and help you."

"Yes, that was what I was thinking."

 _Eh? Really?_

At Shirou's nod, Aizawa sighed and Yu herself could not help sighing as well.

 _Damn it Shirou_

* * *

As Aizawa left, Shirou had spent quite an amount of time simply just sitting, staring off into the distance from the veranda window trying to figure out what a sword like him was doing calling someone his mother?

It didn't make sense, and he himself knew that… but he knew that it was the right thing to call her during tender moments.

He was like an off-key clock, always lagging behind everyone else at a barely noticeable speed. Inevitably he was off by a second, then a minute, an hour, eventually he was so far broken that he would be a day behind.

While he reverted to a child state, that clock did not reset with him. He was still a metaphorical day behind, perhaps even several days now, but he himself had no way to speed up that clock.

However Tohsaka Rin, the woman who managed to worm her way into his heart – although in her case it would be less 'worm in' and more 'break in like a tornado spamming Gandr at anything that moves'.

She was the one with winding key to speed him up, always allowing him to keep up with others, ensuring that his sense of self-preservation still existed. She promised to do that, to do what her future self didn't do with Archer.

Now she was gone, in a separate plane of reality with no ways to contact each other. If one existed then perhaps one day he would find it.

Magic did exist in this world, the fact that he could use his Projection was proof of that, but it did not explain why they cost more Prana than usual… He would need to research on a logical reason as to why such a thing would occur.

… Then again this was magecraft, it followed its own set of logic sure, but he wasn't even sure that the logic of magecraft was the same in this world.

Regardless, he would need to accomplish two things before he was to apply for the U.A. Hero course.

First, study on the syllabus. This was a separate world, the history was different alongside the local behavior and culture. He would need to ensure he knew about the different nuances that existed in this world so that he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of the local populace.

There was also the added bonus to see if the chance to return to his world existed. Even if going back was unlikely.

He had a body of a fourteen-year-old. He would have no place even if he returned. The Mages Association would hunt him down in hopes of finding how he managed to lower his age and endanger his friends and family, not something he'd ever want.

Imagine what would happen if the Mages Association discovered this world? So many innocents would be experimented upon without the local populace knowing any better.

 _That was not an option._

Hence why he was in Yu's room, reading on the books she had in her bookshelves. Surprisingly she never threw out her old textbooks, always keeping them either for memories sake or due to her being lazy.

Most likely the latter.

The second thing he needed to accomplish, was to train. Physically, mentally, and magically increase his prowess.

Since he was staying in this world, he would need to ensure that he doesn't overextend, reaching somewhere that his normal body would be able to reach but in turn being over strenuous to his younger form.

It would be terrible if he went for the final blow on an enemy only to _miss_ his mark like an idiot.

He had been extra careful with his fight against Avenger, but even he knew that he could have dealt with that far easier if he had his normal body. For crying out loud he was the weakest servant! Even compared to the assassin class, and that was saying a lot.

If he were in his main body he would have had a far easier time overall. The fact that he was small and physically weaker was only amended by Archer's experience and the quality of the Noble phantasms, but even with that he still lost.

Where Archer gained experience fighting in a younger body once, he would never know nor did he ever want to know.

His weakly traced Noble Phantasms – hollow within – was easier to trace but far weaker to use. Hence why Zarich and Tawrich could break through them…

Hang on, couldn't he _trace_ them? Tawrich and Zarich weren't phantasms and admittedly easier to use due to the abysmal cost… No, he couldn't use them, mostly due to the suspicion he would draw from the police if he were found using a serial killer's weapons, which were most likely in an astralized state right now.

Shirou, paused as he turned the page, noticing a little makeshift bookmark that he didn't see when he picked up the book.

 _Well isn't that interesting…_

He certainly didn't expect to find a photo of a younger Yu in her high school uniform, surrounded by her classmates each holding up a weird finger gesture.

 _Was this a class photo?_

Judging from the straying eyes of the many males and envious looks coming from the many females in the class, she was most likely one of the more popular students.

Chuckling lightly, Shirou put the photo back where it was. Even when she wasn't anywhere near him, she dragged him out of his thoughts.

 _Terrific._

Throwing away excess thoughts, Shirou sent himself back into a studying stupor. After all, he couldn't do anything else with the presence back once more watching him.

* * *

"What!?"

The shriek from Yu nearly shattered Aizawa's eardrums, however, he was admittedly used to it by now, so he blatantly ignored it and just reconfirmed what he had told her earlier.

The Beast has escaped, and they had no leads as to where the serial killer actually went.

When they received word from the Hosu City Prison, they had no idea how long he had been gone. The guards that were watching him were discovered to be fakes, the chains that were holding him weren't snapped at all, but they seemed to have been utterly dismantled into several fragments.

However the Beast was not killing at the moment, there was a complete lack in murder reports and the silence of the situation only brought more worry.

The Beast was bidding his time, waiting until the heat died down. So until then, the Hosu police force would interrogate the false guards. All the rest of the Pro Heroes could do was keep an eye out for him…

But that was not the most pressing issue.

 _Someone broke him out_

"What do we do!? He'll come after Shirou!"

Aizawa sighed, she was panicking more and more ever since she adopted the brat. "Right now we have Ragdoll watching him again."

"Won't she lose him again? She certainly did last time,"

"She says she has mentally prepared herself, by what means I do not know," Aizawa admitted, "Something about having browsed the Internet's less savory sections."

Yu had to keep herself in check at a sudden thought. What thought that was, she would never say out loud, especially considering their current location.

It wouldn't be becoming of a woman to simply scream in public after all.

"Why can't we tell Shirou about this?" Yu asked,

"If the brat knew then he'd go out again," He said, which Yu could not refute no matter how much she tried, "To keep his suicidal tendencies minimal, it's best that his escape is kept secret,"

"I see…" Yu drawled out but took a glance around the small quaint cafe they sat in, wearing civilian clothing – their Hero outfits stuffed in a bag that they brought along. "By the way, why are we in a cafe? I swear a conversation with a topic like this is better held at the police station."

"The fact that he escaped was not our main topic," He declared, "I'd rather not speak about the same thing multiple times,"

Oh yeah, he attended the meetings at the police station after all.

"We are here for something different," He declared, "I'll have to apologize in advance, you don't really have a role to play here except for introducing her to Shirou properly."

"What?"

At the ringing sound of the cafe door, Aizawa turned his head, allowing Yu to see a woman wearing a really baggy hoody and jogging jeans… Wait a minute didn't she recognize this woman?

She took a seat between adjacent to them both, grabbing the menu and–

A long sigh broke Yu's train of thought.

"Finally! You have no idea how hard it is to get away from the paparazzi!"

 _What?_

"I have to thank you, Mount Lady," The mysterious woman claimed, "If you hadn't smashed him in time, both the kid and I would've been nothing but chopped vegetables in an alleyway."

… Hold on, Yu recognized that hoodie!

"You're the woman that Shirou saved!" Yu cried out in realization.

"Yes I am," She said, dragging off her hoodie and–

"Uwabami!?" Yu cried out once more in disbelief.

"Yes! Glad to see I don't have to introduce myself,"

Was she kidding? Of course! Yu definitely knew her! She essentially appeared in a lot of commercials, TV dramas, and even in fashion shows. She had a great face, rocking body – she totally wasn't annoyed that she had a greater pair of assets – and above all skill in acting. A quintessential celebrity!

It was truly a blessing that there was no one in the cafe. The owner was someone that Aizawa apparently knew, so he used this place frequently to converse in secret with other Pro Heroes when the usual locations were in use.

However, she was also a Pro Hero just like Yu, albeit less focused on the combat side of things and more on the tracking aspect of it.

"The pleasure is all mine," Yu greeted,

"No, it is mine," Uwabami argued, "My life was saved after all, by both you and the kid,"

"Can we get down to business?" Aizawa blurted out inelegantly, snapping the two of them from the inevitable girl talk that they would have had.

"R-right," Uwabami started, being slightly off-put by the sudden interruption, "There are a few things I want to talk about. but for starters, I've heard that the kid – what's his name again?"

"Shirou," Aizawa blurted out,

"Right, sorry I didn't really ask his name at the time," She apologized, "I've heard that Shirou is seeking to enroll in U.A.'s Hero course, right?"

"Yeah that's right," Yu said,

"Well, then I can help!" She declared happily, "You see I'm a well known Pro Hero, which means that I can send a recommendation for him to enroll! I heard Endeavor's already recommending his kid for U.A. anyway, so I could do the same right?"

Eh? You could recommend students? Shit, was that fact mentioned somewhere in her rookie's hero guide pamphlet?

"I see…" Yu said, "That would help a lot!"

"I know right!? So I'll just email U.A. my form and–"

"Unfortunately it's up to Shirou whether to accept it or not." Aizawa interrupted, a stoic frown worn.

"Oh… right," Yu muttered, admittedly having forgotten. She wasn't used to this whole mother thing okay? "I'll just call my landline then,"

"Sure go ahead," Uwabami said, relishing as the smoothie was delivered to her.

 _When did she order that?_

Yu heard the phone pickup, "Hello Shirou? Yeah, we found a way to get you into U.A without having to take the entrance exam, kind of like a free pass… I see. Got it,"

Yu lowered her phone slightly as she frowned, "Well, Shirou doesn't seem to want the recommendation, got anything else to tell him?"

"Why?" Uwabami asked, "He wants to be a Hero right? This should be the easiest way."

Yu glanced at Aizawa as she relayed the question back to Shirou, only to let a soft smile grow as she heard his answer.

"He says that if he can't even pass the entrance exam, then he shouldn't be a Hero."

"… So that kid wants to prove himself by doing the entrance exam…? I can respect that…" Uwabami muttered with a sigh, "Well I guess I'm sorry for wasting your time then,"

"It's okay! From how long I lived with him, Shirou is just like that." Yu said. Admittedly they lived together for only a week and a half.

"Can I just tell the kid something?"

Yu nodded and handed the phone to her. Aizawa was already ordering another cup of coffee so he didn't care much.

"Hey kid, Shirou right?" Uwabami said, inwardly feeling relieved at the reply she received, "Look, I'll just keep this short and simple so you can go back to whatever it is you were doing."

A calming inhale and exhale exited her as Yu watched on.

"I wanted to thank you for saving me. While I didn't enjoy the fact that a civilian like you, put yourself in danger for the sake of a random stranger," She said, "You didn't know me, you had no reason to help me, but you still did. It's not exactly a bad thing, but try tone it down okay?"

Like he was going to listen to that

"You really don't want the recommendation?" Uwabami asked again, nodding at the repeated reply with a sigh, "You're putting me in a tight spot right now… I still need to repay the favour– I owe a life's debt to you kid! I'm not throwing that away just because you say 'It's fine'! You risked your life for mine so I'm going to repay it!"

Yu could not help but raise a palm to her face, as Shirou no doubt said that repaying a life's debt was unnecessary.

"Just call me whenever you need some help, I will repay this debt whether you like it or not." Uwabami let out a huff, nodding to herself as she got the kid to listen, "Great, I've already put my number into your mother's phone, so ask her for my number later."

She did what?– Uwabami tossed the phone back to Yu, who fumbled to catch it. She threw a slight glare at the Pro Hero, but she could see why she was frustrated at Shirou's behavior as she raised the phone back to her ear.

"Goodbye Shirou, I'll see you tonight okay?" She smiled, hearing him send his regards. She hung up the phone and turned to face Uwabami– why was she beating her head on the table?

"Crap, well I already wrote my recommendation letter and it'd be a waste to throw out…" Uwabami muttered, "I already told the gals in my office that I was recommending someone so I can't just tell them that he refused… Screw it, I'll be searching for a kid to send to U.A."

"Sorry about the trouble," Yu apologized.

Aizawa sighed at the reckless conclusion, "Make sure that whoever you recommend will be able to complete the recommendation test,"

Apparently, Yu and Uwabami didn't know that part, "There's a _test_ for being _recommended_!?"

Aizawa rubbed his poor ears and nodded, "Yes, we cannot just let every recommended child in, we need to validate whether they are worthy of the recommendation or not."

"Oh…" They simultaneously muttered, giving Aizawa a minor migraine. Of course two people so similar would end up taking a liking to an altruistic kid.

* * *

Tsuragamae Kenji sighed, looking through the documents and reports he had received from Pro Heroes. Some of them were written based on the format and easy to read, however, most of them ended up as a mess of a report with hastily written thoughts based on what they remembered.

It was understandable – somewhat – they had to fight Villains on a daily basis. Dealing with them and writing reports quickly simply weren't their forte.

But could they at least choose a legible font for when they print their damned report!? What idiot uses JOKERMAN in an OFFICIAL REPORT!?

He looked at the name of the Hero and felt a twitch grow on his head. Of course, it had to be the damned cat, _Ragdoll_.

Even her name doesn't make any sense when she's in a cat-themed team and–

Kenji sighed and recollected himself, putting aside the infuriating piece of parchment, and walked outside his office, perhaps a change of scenery would help him relax his throbbing headache.

Upon entering the break room, Kenji saw Tsukauchi staring heavily at a piece of parchment much as he had been a few minutes ago.

Kenji decided it would be best to aid his fellow law enforcer, "Tsukauchi, you look troubled, _woof_."

"Oh, chief," He muttered, revealing the eye bags that he had sported. "Sorry about my unsightly appearance, I've been busy with paperwork lately."

Kenji nodded, "I can see that you chose to bring your work to the break room, _woof_. However it is always good to take some rest before the stress gets too much, we wouldn't want you screwing up due to fatigue."

While Tsukauchi still appeared troubled, Kenji took a look at the parchment and read through it slowly… Is this…?

"This is the report about the Beast's escape." Kenji stated, "Why are you looking this over, _woof_? I don't believe he would be anywhere near Musutafu."

"It was just a feeling sir," Tsukauchi admitted, "I don't feel like the Beast would be back in Hosu. They've beefed up their so much that even the Hero killer hasn't made any killings lately."

He flipped through the report and arrived on a random page, "It says here the chains holding him weren't shattered through brute force, as is the usual with the Beast's mode of attack, but instead they had been broken apart, slowly, as if it was _decayed_ into mulch."

"You believe there to be a new player entirely in this situation, _woof_?" Kenji concluded, "Someone that wanted to break him out… for what reason?"

"That I still do not know," Tsukauchi admitted, "The situation needs to be handled with care, but we don't have enough information… What if the situation spirals out of our control and ends up causing even more untold deaths? What if whoever broke out the Beast is using him for some other–"

"Tsukauchi, I order you to calm down, _woof_."

The young detective inhaled and exhaled, calming himself down,

"Tsukauchi, please put the paper back in your desk and come with me." He said as he made to walk out of the break room, "It appears that we are both in need of a break."

Once Tsukauchi got out of the police station, he entered Kenji's car and they drove off. Where to, Tsukauchi didn't know, but since they were both on break it was probably a bar to grab a drink.

That or the firing range, he had gotten a little rusty with his shooting skills, mostly due to the lack of reasons and lethal villains to shoot– not that he would actually shoot to kill, capturing is what the Police do nowadays anyway… and grab already defeated Villains and shove them in a cell.

Thoughts died off as they parked in front of an apartment complex.

"Chief?"

"I wanted to finish something up, you can come with me if you wish."

When Kenji left the car, Tsukauchi followed. They entered the building and in barely any time they reached a door.

Kenji cleared his throat and knocked.

After a few moments of waiting, the door opened to reveal…

"Yes? What can I do for you Kenji-san, Tsukauchi-san?"

 _Was that Shirou?_

Kenji gave a soft yet awkward smile, "Hello Shirou, we'd like to talk with you for a bit. Is Mount Lady here?"

He shook his head, "No, she went out for a meeting. You can take a seat on the couch, I'll prepare some tea."

As soon as Shirou let them in, he shut the door and made his way into the kitchen. Kenji made a motion, and Tsukauchi followed him to the couch.

Admittedly the home had a sense of loneliness, yet it was also homely. The floor had been cleaned recently based on the sheen of the varnished wood, and the windows were scrubbed to allow more light through.

From what he knew from Mount Lady, Tsukauchi knew that she could not have been the one to clean the house. That would only mean that the cleaner was Shirou.

Did Yu make him clean as chores?

Tsukauchi couldn't conclude his thoughts until he heard the clinking of a plate upon the glass center table. "Here's the tea."

"Thank you, Shirou, _woof,_ "

"Y-yes, thank you,"

Tsukauchi merely gazed around the room, noting the lack of decor except for the very comfortable looking fluffy pink carpet– _What was in this tea!?_

Kenji coughed, dragging Tsukauchi out of the stupor he hadn't realized he found himself in. The embarrassed detective smiled wryly.

"Now Shirou, I understand you are eager to know why we are here, _woof_." Kenji said and honestly Tsukauchi was eager to know too, "The reason we are here is about... our code of actions from when we detained you."

"If you are here to apologize, then you don't need to do that," Shirou said, "Aizawa already did it ages ago,"

A moment of silence passed.

"Well… _woof_ ," Kenji said, "At least we don't need to talk about _that_ then…"

He coughed once more to get his bearings, "The other reason we are here is to address the way we found you. We would like you to tell us if there is someone eager to dispose of you,"

Dispose of… Oh right!

Tsukauchi thought back the discussion they had with Aizawa and Yu when they first apprehended Shirou. Tensions were high and he had flunked the interrogation, granted it was one of his first times interrogating someone under twice his age but still.

They had talked about the chance that he fell in the wrong group of people. They never confirmed whether that was true or not.

"No, I don't think someone is after me…" Shirou said, but he fell silent with a contemplative expression, "… Actually, perhaps A– the Beast would want revenge, but since he's locked away that's not an issue."

Luckily the kid was busy contemplating and didn't notice Tsukauchi's awkward coughs.

"So there is no one after you at all at the moment?" Kenji asked to clarify, to which he received a nod in response, "Then that leaves a mystery as to why you were found in a dumpster."

Tsukauchi saw Shirou squirm ever so slightly despite the level head the kid had. He remembered when he asked if it was something he could not talk about, he had assumed the reason was very personal.

He was about to jump in to alleviate the worries the kid no doubt had, but he was beaten to it when he answered, "I fought against a villain in self-defense…"

* * *

Shirou let the words exit his mouth.

There was no use lying to them, he had learned from Yu that Tsukauchi had a lie-detection quirk and he did not want to trigger it now. He had gotten lucky during the earlier interrogation through misdirection and playing the sympathy card – not on purpose but still.

"... Then suddenly we were dragged in by a black portal. I woke up on a dumpster."

The silence was palpable, and Shirou knew that if he did something wrong here then he'd ruin any chance of becoming a Hero down the line. There was also ruining the very minor possibility of returning home, but the same risks apply.

"What was the appearance of the villain?" Tsukauchi asked

"He wore a jacket and leather slacks," He said,

"Clothes can change easily. What about his Quirk, facial features, or hair colors?"

Quirk? The thought of Gilgamesh having a quirk was funny in a way that the world exploding was. Actually, if Gilgamesh knew he called him a Villain, then he'd be gutted where he stood, child body or not.

"He was a tall blond with red eyes,"

Once Tsukauchi listed the features on a notepad, he threw Kenji a look, causing him to sigh, "Fine, have a nice day Shirou, we will be going now, _woof_."

"Good day to you Kenji-san, Tsukauchi-san," Shirou said,

Once they left, Shirou could not help but sigh and pray.

He sighed because of the fact that he gave the two officers more work to do when they were obviously after a break.

He prayed because he did not want to face Gilgamesh again when he found out he essentially called Humanity's _oldest Hero_ a _common day villain_.

Oh, he'd be dead before he could blink– Gilgamesh and Archer.

He was dragged in with them, this was bad.

How could he forget!?

They were most likely in this world with him, hopefully on a different continent but the chance of that happening is near zero.

Gilgamesh should have bled out by now, but knowing that man he'd probably have some sort of ace up his sleeve, or he pulled out a Noble Phantasm out of his ass and used that. So he must have survived and was laying low…

Archer would be fine… except he had no more Prana to sustain himself, and he wouldn't drain from innocents as it would go against his ideals. There was an abundance of Prana in the air, so maybe he could sustain himself using that?

He could not leave to search for either of the two, it'd trigger the ankle tracker and drag a police force squad to apprehend him… not to mention the disappointed face Yu would make.

He sighed once more. He tried to convince himself that he shouldn't worry about Gilgamesh or Archer, the former hopefully being dead and the latter spirited away back to the throne… hopefully.

… But knowing his own E-rank luck, that's not going to happen.

* * *

 **A/N: I got a Beta! Yay hooray. It was a novel experience that I'd like to continue with further chapters.**

 **Send thanks to** **L33t Horo** **for checking the chapter's quality.**

 **Now onto other matters... The Poll. I learned that while I MADE the poll, I didn't reveal it on my profile, so the entire month it didn't show up. It's there now (I checked personally) and now you can decide on what to do with the previous chapter's cooking scene.**

 **This marks the end of the Prologue Arc, Shirou will be going to U.A NEXT CHAPTER, if I don't deliver on that then flame me like a fool.**

 **Although I will need some time to work on that chapter, mainly drawing drafts and checking if my storyboarding is correct. Also, I have real-life issues like studies and etc– you know the drill.**

 **On a good note, I finished EoR4 Salem! New Foreigner class (I believe Outsider would've been a better name tbh) that resists berserkers and is weak to alter-egos. I used the Mecha Elizabeth instead of Meltlilith (because I had Merlin duh). Now I wait for the Christmas 2017 event for Fate/Grand Order.**

 **Oh yeah, if you play Fate/Grand Order, you should really read** _Fragments of Chaldea_ **by** **GhostXavier** **, I swear it should have more favorites and follows than what this story has. It's criminal that my story has the edge in that department when I know my quality is far lower than** **GhostXavier's** **work, so treat yourself and read it. I'd advise going from start to finish (reading the supplementary stories on his account when told to do so) because that's where all the novel experiences come from. He's built his world to be lively and true to the characters, it deserves attention and damns it he'll get some.**

 **Now there were issues with an OOC Shirou last chapter, and I could see it. I don't have a good grasp on relations between characters but from what I've seen from UBW I can say that we don't really know how Shirou is with a Mother (There's Prisma Illya but that's a Shirou who can't fight for shit so meh) and I took a more mellow spin on it. Might've been TOO mellow but this isn't an action-oriented fanfic by any means, Shirou will develop and he may end up different from the character from UBW. He'll still be Shirou at his core, but I plan to pour in some human, because honestly would you read a story where the main character remains the same throughout the whole damned thing? Every single one of your favorite shows has their MC's develop in some way that changes their outlook but not their core aspects.**

 **Sure there'll be fights, that's inevitable, but they aren't the main focus. Shirou's development is the focus that made me write this fic and will remain the focus.**

 **I'll close of this A/N with a summary:**  
 **-Fate/GO Christmas event**  
 **-School**  
 **-New Beta [** **L33t Horo** **]**  
 **-OOC Shirou is inevitable**  
 **-Chapter 10 will come out somewhere in January, hopefully**

 **Kappa (Btw please report errors or any pet-peeves you have about this. Even something minor like the color of Shirou's shirt** **)**

 **A/N 2: I made loads of grammar edits here (Grammarly is a blessing). However, you may be wondering _why_ it is that I chose this chapter and left the previous ones as they are. The answer is simple.**

 **Thank you all, I know what a Ragdoll is.**

 **Kappa.**


	11. Chapter 10 - Unsheathed Sword

**Chapter 10**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

* * *

 _The sky was black, just as dead as the sun that disappeared from the horizon._

 _That was the last time he saw it. That deathly hollow sky tainted as the smoke rose to meet the shallow skyline._

 _He could not feel his body as the sense of pain faded, he could not maintain the will to keep his mind active nor did he seem to want to keep it that way. If he could faint and let the fires consume him, then surely he would no longer suffer… and yet he was still dragging his mind out of the grasps of a senseless paradise._

 _Why was he clinging to life when he himself had no more reason to live?_

 _He had walked past the bodies of the burning dead, he had ignored the wails of agony from beneath the debris, and above all he had pushed himself farther away from the hands reaching for their salvation._

 _So he threw away his guilt._

 _All those deaths had weighed upon him more than he wished to admit but he himself knew that he could not save the ones that he left behind. All he could do was hope that someone else would save them… otherwise he would fall into the depths of anguish._

 _So he threw away his despair._

 _Someone would save them. Someone would do it. Someone that was not him. He could not save anyone, he was a child and that was fine. No one expected a child to actually be able to save them._

 _So he threw away his regret._

 _What place did these thoughts have now? His body had given up, unwilling to allow himself to move on to survival, the weight of his own body dragging him down to hell itself. The wails and cries of agony and despair had long since faded, leaving nothing but the sound of rubble, slowly crumbling around him._

 _How was it that his body remained motionless, yet his mind still remained active? He was going to die and his own body wasn't helping him live… No, in fact he was sure that he already did._

 _His mind did not die, nor did his body… However he was sure of one thing, the person that he was before had already perished._

 _It was because he threw himself away._

 _He had to have done it, otherwise he would have dragged himself back, broke down crying like a child… and in doing so sign his death away to whatever afterlife existed. In order to survive he had to do the unthinkable, and that was throw himself away._

 _There was nothing left in this shell he called a body… maybe, just maybe, he should let go. Let himself fade away from the nothingness around him…_

… _So as he reached into the desolate sky… in order to obtain peace… he gathered the remaining resolve that he had, and threw away his life–_

 _Rubble was thrown away, allowing a single solitary hand drag him out of the rubble, carefully checking over his body. Tears running down the stranger's eyes, the sheer joy he had was immeasurable._

 _But Why?_

 _Why was he wearing such a joyful expression when there was hell itself all around them? Why was he smiling so much from finding someone still alive? Why was he so happy from the bottom of his heart?_

 _Was he happy to have found him? He was sure that he barely knew him… Why was he so happy from finding a stranger?_

 _The man was so happy that it seemed like it was the man himself who was saved, not he._

 _He grasped the frail hand, gazing deep into the half dead eyes of the child, a smile beautifully growing on his face as tears streaked down him. "You're alive! You're alive!"_

 _And then…_

 _Even when he was about to throw away his own life, to succumb to the peace of death, he was jealous._

" _Thank you… thank you!"_

 _He did not know why he was thanking him, he had done nothing but lie in the rubble. Deep down he knew that the man was thankful to have found someone… By saving someone in this desolate hell, he had in turn did the unthinkable…_

 _He had saved himself._

 _The man who had saved him wore such a beautiful smile, that the boy could not help but think…_

… _that he too, wanted to smile like that one day._

* * *

Shirou wearily opened his eyes and gazed at the room around him. Finding the mostly cleaned out guestroom.

It was a natural sight for him, he had cleaned this room almost religiously after Yu had failed to do so.

Shirou stepped off his bed, and took a glance at the bedside mirror before him, an addition due to the constant insistence of Yu, saying that he needed to know if his clothes looked good or not – not that Shirou ever truly cared, but he had to humor her.

He no longer had a rather round face, but instead it had grown to fit his old image, which was all within his estimation. He had grown only a few inches from the months that passed.

In the middle of those months he vaguely remembered Aizawa and the other police detectives dropping by a few times, checking up on him as they would claim.

After a quick bath, Shirou turned to his wardrobe and changed into his form fitting blue and white sweater, but with the addition of blue jeans and a black jacket.

Both of which were bought by Yu – among _other_ things, the reason being she wanted to make up for the several birthdays she hadn't been able to attend. Despite Shirou stating that such concern was unwarranted, it didn't stop her from buying a boat load of differently designed clothes for him.

Upon stepping outside his room, he was met with a surprising sight. Yu was up early, and was in the kitchen–

Shirou could not help the hastening of his steps as he entered the kitchen, "Yu? What are you doing?"

He dropped the use of honorifics a few months ago, mostly again due to her insistence.

"Ah, Shirou!" She exclaimed, wearing an apron that said 'single mother' with a hello kitty font, "I was making us breakfast! I heard salad for breakfast was a good idea so I made us some!"

Shirou let his eyes wander across the kitchen, feeling relief spread across him as he realized that she didn't make as much of a mess as she usually would. Which was mostly due to the constant scolding on his part, something as sacred as a kitchen should be treasured.

With a sigh, Shirou nodded, "Okay then, but you do know I have to leave in a few minutes or else the entrance exam will pass without me."

That was the reason he had woken for today after all. Today was the U.A entrance exam, the time to prove to himself that he could become a Hero in this world.

His studies through out the month would cover any educational aspect, through the use of reinforcing his brain. He wasn't going to say that he had a minor migraine from overuse a month ago, but it was definitely a stressful period for Yu as well.

Unfortunately he could not find any reports or detailed writings about quirks that allowed inter-dimensional travel, however there were quirks that allowed for instantaneous movement through varied distances, in short teleportation.

The library nearby didn't have the knowledge he needed, even when he managed to be given permission to view the restricted books. However he didn't know that it wasn't restricted due to secrets and the like, but for age.

He suppressed a mental shiver.

Shirou sat down alongside Yu and dined on the salad she had made…

"Well Shirou?" Yu asked, hoping for some feedback,

"It's not bad, but it could have been better."

"How so?"

"Too much vinegar, you could cut back a bit on it. There wasn't enough salt so the pepper took center stage. Try to improve on the sauce, it didn't enhance the dish and felt more like a side."

Despite the harsh critique, Yu had a notepad out and was writing down what he had said. In her own words, a mother shouldn't be a worse cook than her son, who wasn't even an adult yet.

"I see… What about the ketchup?"

"It was an odd addition that shared the same problem as the sauce," Actually the combination of them just flat out didn't work.

Shirou glanced at the wall clock, and made his way to the door, "Bye Yu, I'll be back after the exam finishes."

"Take care!"

With a nod, Shirou left the apartment complex.

* * *

Shirou sighed as he lifted the phone to his ear, "Yu, this is the third time you called, I can handle this."

Despite the fact they had conversed fine in the morning, she still called him in worry.

After listening to her string of worries, all Shirou could do was sigh, "Yu, it's an entrance exam, I doubt that a school that Aizawa would work in would want to kill their students– Calm down, I'll be fine. I promise I'll be home by 6, okay?"

Yu was a worrywart, and the months they spent together after he had gotten his ankle tracker did nothing to change that. Shirou knew that she was trying hard to be a mother, but he felt that she was trying too hard.

It wasn't as if he was going to get mauled on his way to U.A right?

Actually knowing his E-rank luck…

Shirou sighed as he closed the phone, turning to look at the building he stood in front of… with the two golden letters screaming out to the world, U.A.

This was the place, after taking a few steps he notices a young man, with a nervous yet determined expression, ahead of him.

This admittedly brought a smile to Shirou's face, to see people want to become hero's much like he did… Although he was sure that his philosophy about being a Hero was very different to what the concept was to the majority attending the exam.

He sighed lightly and shook away unnecessary thoughts. He didn't need anything distracting him during this exam, especially if he wanted to prove himself. To prove that he could become an ally of justice in this world filled with Heroes.

So with that thought in mind, he walked past the various sculptures of Heroes, and into the building–

"Move outta the way,"

The message was so abrupt that Shirou reacted instinctively, allowing the person rudely walk by him.

After allowing the absurdity of the event pass him over, he kept an eye on the rude blond. It was as if he had treated Shirou like he didn't exist and only said those words out of instinct. This was someone who wanted to enroll in U.A?

A person like this wanted to become a Hero like he did? An ally of justice?

That thought… was not as surprising as it should have been to Shirou, after all he knew a few terrible human beings who became heroic spirits, one such person was Jason of the Argonauts.

Shirou shook his head, he had gotten distracted once again. Shirou entered the building, throwing aside the unrelated thoughts…

"Are you all right?"

The concerned voice of a young girl dragged his attention. Despite the fact he had tried to focus his mind to the main issue at hand… it was reminiscent somehow.

 _Was someone unwell?_

He allowed his curiosity to drag his attention away from the double doors in which he nearly walked through, and laid his eyes upon a young teen with curly hair.

… Who was also defying gravity. Either that or the girl holding him by his bag is absurdly strong.

However the moment the girl let go of his bad, he started flailing in mid air like he was about to fall. Gravity manipulation, if that was something that was shown to mages they would have thought it similar to true magic, almost like teleportation.

Given that no modern piece of technology could deny gravity, his assumption was rather accurate right?

The girl helped the flailing boy down with a smile, letting his gravity return to him.

 _Was it touch activated?_

"It's my Quirk. Sorry for using it without asking first," She apologized, "But it'd be bad luck if you fell, right?"

Whatever reply the boy was going to have seemed to have died off, as he could only dimly look at her direction.

"Aren't you nervous?" She continued, not really expecting a reply. The young man seemed to be struggling for a response, but she seemed to cut him off, "Let's do our best. See ya!"

The girl approached, to which Shirou willingly moved aside to allow her to pass in.

"Thanks!"

Shirou let a smile worm into his face as she left into the building. She was a nice person, most others would have let the boy fall down onto the ground… actually most people don't even notice a person is falling until they already did.

 _Could her reaction speed be above average?_

Shirou turned to the boy once more in order to determine his well being… only to find that he was smiling dumbly to himself in silent cheer.

Shirou sighed.

As a male, he has no right to say this… Boys will be boys, hormones and everything.

* * *

Once the written exam had ended, Shirou followed the directions of the staff and arrived in front of a double door. To the side it simply stated "U.A. High school Hero Course Exam orientation".

Shirou walked inside and seated himself on a random available seat. He took a look at his surroundings and was reminded that it looked somewhat similar to a college lecture hall, albeit far dimmer than usual.

Students began taking seats left and right, chatting among some friends that they either made a long time ago or just today.

' _Hey its starting!'_

That whisper caught his attention within the silent room, causing him to turn towards the giant screen in front of the hall. It turned itself on to reveal the standard U.A. Logo for all of the entirety examinees to see. The lights around the hall flicked on like clockwork, until it revealed a man standing on the podium.

A serious atmosphere set in, most likely the tension from all of the examinees here–

What was that man wearing? It seemed like a normal leather outfit but the neck brace with speakers told Shirou otherwise.

"For all you examinee listeners tuning in… Welcome to my LIVE show today!"

 _What._

"EVERYBODY SAY 'HEY'!" He screamed and raised an ear to better listen to the examinees…

The examinees in question however… simply gave no reply whatsoever. Most of them either to shy or gobsmacked to even react… which was what Shirou was feeling at the moment if he was honest.

Even if he had been told beforehand, he would have still been astounded at the actions of this man. He was an adult right?

The man in question however seemed unperturbed and simply rose his hands to his sides in mock defeat, "What a refined response. Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam!"

Shirou let out a sigh of honest relief, they were finally going to focus on–

"ARE YOU READY!? YEAH!"

… _This man…_

' _It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic! Wow…!'_

Thankfully whoever muttered that out loud gave Shirou the knowledge on who the person before them was. This man was a Hero much like Yu, but undoubtedly far more experienced. The neck brace was something that he found odd though, was it there to possibly supplement his quirk somehow perhaps?

"As it says in the application requirements," Present Mic continued, "You listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!" The screen behind him shifted to show the building they were in, splitting off into seven different colored boxes. "You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?"

Silence followed as Shirou dug into his pocket, and brought out a pamphlet that he was given. Shirou ignored the resounding 'OKAYY?!' in favor of the pamphlet.

His test location that was listed down… it said Battle Center G.

The screen once more shifted and gave view to a rather compact city, however along side it were three silhouettes."Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty."

That definitely made sense, it gave a great way to test the combat capabilities of your quirk in a controlled environment. It was something that Saber would no doubt approve of. She probably would want her Knights to take this exam too.

"Your goal, my dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilizing the faux villains… Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited–!"

"May I ask a question?" Interrupted a clear cut and concise voice.

Shirou turned his attention to the standing examinee, who seemed to exemplify what a standard Japanese Honor student would look like. In fact, he looked remarkably similar to Ryuudou Issei…

"Okay!" Present Mic replied, not caring at all on how he was interrupted. A spotlight activated, allowing all examinees a clear view of him.

"On the printout, there are four types of villains. If this is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake." He loudly proclaimed, confirming within Shirou's mind that this person was somehow Ryuudou Issei's lost twin brother. "We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes…"

 _Ah_ , wait a minute… there was a printout? Shirou noticed his phone vibrate with a message, prompting him to turn it on, revealing it to be from Yu.

 _Sorry Shirou, I forgot to give you the printout that Aizawa gave me. XP Sorry about that Shirou XOXO_

 _Damn it Yu._

"… In addition, you over there with the curly hair! You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting." He called out, "If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"

Shirou frowned but made no move to do anything. It was fine though, Issei used to scold people in a similar manner before and overall it was for the better… The person always being scolded however was Shinji.

"Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111. Thanks for the great message." Present Mic said, allowing a fourth silhouette to take shape, "The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center – An obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to defeat it either."

Shirou's frown deepened upon hearing that. The previous silhouettes made sense before, measuring battle capabilities by totaling the points earned, but when a single obstacle exists that you don't have to nor have any incentive to fight exists, one can only wonder…

What is it's purpose? To test the disengaging or retreating capabilities of examinees? Weed out the hard headed and foolhardy examinees right off the bat? To do either of those, the fourth faux villain must be of substantial strength to warrant examinees to actively avoid combat with it.

There was also that additional information about it going while within narrow spaces. Is that the only place it will appear? Why narrow spaces?

"I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it." Present Mic concluded.

"Thank you very much! Please excuse the interruption!" Examinee number 7111 bowed deeply and respectively before siting back down, allowing the spotlight to click off.

' _So we just gotta avoid them?'_

' _Yeah seems like it'_

The other examinees aren't really questioning the fourth obstacles purpose it seems… Was Shirou just over thinking things as usual? Whatever the case, he needed to keep an eye out for it, every instinct that he inherited from Archer told him so.

"That's all from me! Finally I'll give you listeners a present… Our school motto!" He shouted, but with a smile slightly wider than usual, "The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said… A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes…"

An actual quote from a possible heroic spirit, it was respecta–

"… Go further beyond! Plus Ultra!"

–ble… **That quote.**

… _and in unison they_ _bellowed_ _, the world around Shirou shook, as if the world itself trembled at the united will of the Heroes before it._

 ** _"Plus Ultra!"_**

Shirou would not be able to forget that quote, even after the months had passed.

"Now everyone, good luck suffering!"

Despite the morbid parting words, Shirou let a small smile take hold.

* * *

Shirou stood in front of the giant steel gates, barring his way into the large faux city. Even from outside he could hear the sounds of the faux villains resonating from within.

Battle Center G had slightly less people around, most likely due to being one of the last centers. It was where all the remainder went after the other centers were full.

Inversely that would mean that there were slightly less faux villains to deal with within the city itself, in order for the Battle Centers to not show favoritism. Competition for the faux villains would be fiercer.

He allowed his eyes to roam around, taking note of the more notable people within the crowd. He saw various things such as a Horn quirks, a giant fist quirk, and thorns for hair… Wait a minute was that earphones growing from her ears?

What kind of evolutionary development would need to occur for that to be actually feasible?

"What are you staring at?" The girl asked, looking a tad bit miffed. She also seemed awkward though, probably because they were stood somewhat next to each other.

Whoops, best fix his mistake.

"Sorry for staring, I was just curious about the ear phone plugs." Shirou said honestly, "I never seen a quirk like that before."

At his reply she softened, but still held a wary expression on her face, "It's fine man, most people haven't either. Quirks that work with electronics are rare after all." She allowed her eyes to roam his body, widening slightly, "Since you asked about mine, can I ask about yours?"

Luckily he knew what to do, raising a hand and allowing his prana to take the form of a rather standard short sword. "My quirk just lets me make swords." He replied with a kind smile.

She widened her eyes at the sudden sight of it, "Wow man, that looks like a pretty mean Quirk. Do you ever worry that you're gonna hurt someone?" She asked genuinely,

It seemed that her earlier wariness was alleviated by his gesture. He supposed that it was warranted, letting people know your Quirk somehow has a soothing mental effect. Not that many people notice it, but when people know what your quirk is, they have an opportunity to allow topics to open up. This increases interactions between both parties.

"Sometimes I do," Shirou admitted, especially within this world, where even maiming a villain would be frowned upon heavily, "But all that means is that I have to work hard not to hurt them."

It was a convoluted explanation in a way, but she seemed to understand what he meant. If he didn't know how to use a sword, the chances of accidentally hurting people around him was far greater. The fact that he knew how to use a sword meant that he could disable opponents either via disarmament, knockout with blunt sides of single-edged blades, and other methods.

Being better with your abilities meant more control, in the end you would hurt less people and save more people.

The girl hummed to herself, "That's deep," She commented, "Good luck in the exam, would be a shame to see someone like you fail."

"Someone like me?" He asked,

What did she mean by that?

"Well…" She murmured, scratching her head a bit, "Something about you just makes you seem likeable. I don't really know why."

 _Likeable?_

Thinking back, his classmates had always seemed to be friendly to him despite the fact that they rarely ever talked. Tohsaka often told him that being kind to everyone would let them walk over him, but inversely they seemed to like him better overall. Strangely enough those only happened when within a school setting.

Was he giving that kind of feeling right now?

"Forget about it," She says, "Good luck on the exam man,"

She walked away, probably to focus more on the exam. They had talked long enough and the exam was ultimately going to start soon. Any distractions would be detrimental.

Despite that train of thought, it would seem that he chose to be distracted today. The rest of the quirks looked standard issue. Although there seemed to be some older students here, possibly some students who decided to try enroll at U.A. after a year of training?

It was an admirable quality to be honest, these people wanted to be heroes so much that they spent a considerable amount of time trying to become one. The confidence in their eyes almost reflect that.

In a way he almost felt guilty of the fact that he had slightly more experience than them, because experience was usually a deciding factor in fights and most importantly the battle field…

… Still though, the fact that this school has several faux cities of such scale was surprising. Either the alumni or the government decided to pour in monetary support for the school. No matter which though it didn't change the fact that the school was loaded, enough so to make Rin jealous.

"OKAY START!"

Suddenly the colossal door that was shut, had opened without anyone knowing whatsoever. Despite this sudden occurrence, it didn't bother Shirou. The moment he heard Present Mic's voice shout out through the speakers, he was already in the faux city.

He had fought in the Holy Grail War, against beings that excelled the common capabilities of humanity, where a split second decision could mean the difference between life and death. So by the time the rest of the examinees noticed Shirou within the city, he had already called upon Kanshou and Bakuya and cleaved through the abdomen of a faux villain.

He had spent a month preparing for this day, trained both physically and magically. His circuits were still only half unlocked, but the speed in which the traced objects appear was near instantaneous.

In less than a second the torso flew high above him and landed in front of another faux villain.

Shirou had fought in a war, where a single misstep could have meant his life. This exam was no threat to him.

He will pass this exam.

* * *

Yu sighed as she walked around Musutafu in patrol, taking in the sound of the morning birds as a welcome distraction.

"Whats wrong?"

She let a wry smile come out as she turned to look at her companion, "Nothing at all, just worried that's it."

Her companion let a cheeky smile wrap on her face, "Thinking about Shirou again?"

"Don't tease me 'bami-chan!"

Within the months that followed after their initial meeting, Yu and Uwabami had hit it off hard. Most of the time they would talk to each other on the phone when they weren't busy and even more often they would patrol together around the city.

They were both Heroes of Musutafu after all. It was only proper that they held friendly relations!

"Not so fun being at the other end of the teasing isn't it?" Uwabami chided, "Don't worry it's just an exam, besides Recovery girl is there. He'll be fine!"

Despite the reassurance, Yu could not help but feel a tad bit worried.

Shirou had been respectably well behaved during the months at home, doing house work before she even asked him to do them, buying groceries from the market nearby, cooking amazing meals worthy of some award… The only altercations that arose was that one time with the door to door salesman trying to push his products onto him.

Bless her son's bleeding heart, but if Shirou spent another single damn yen on dish washing soap without her supervision then he was going to get a booty whooping!

So far there weren't many people around grabbing at either of their autographs, but that was mostly attributed to the fact that both of them weren't on the streets but the roofs.

Why was a giantess such as herself doing on a roof when she could destroy a building just by standing on it? The simple answer was that she was tired from interacting with fans for the day and wanted some privacy.

Privacy which lead to Uwabami tagging along her roof jumping all because it seemed fun to do.

"Oh look, it's that wood guy."

 _Wood guy?_

Yu turned her head and saw Kamui Woods, sat atop a water tower staring into the city. His eyes were serious however, seemingly tracking movements of each and every suspicious individual.

Yu let out a sigh, did that man never learn to just chill?

Uwabami seemed to be of a similar mindset, and wasted no time shouting out to him, "Wood guy! You okay up there?"

Kamui Woods broke from his stupor and glanced down at the two blond pro heroes, eyes both steeling themselves and panicking at seeing Yu.

Did she do something wrong?

"Why are you on the roofs, Mount Lady?!" He exclaimed.

 _Ah, right._

"I didn't really want to be bothered so I climbed up here!" She replied, "It's fine, I can just jump off the building and go big later!"

Kamui Woods let out a sigh and nodded, "Fine, I'll hold you to that. However if there is an incident then I hold no further responsibility" Soon after his sight turned to the other blond pro hero, "And why are you here as well, Uwabami?"

"Simple, I wanted to hang out with Yu-chan."

Kamui simply let out another sigh, "What about your Hero duties?"

"I've been in the spotlight long enough, if my lackeys finds something then they'll call." She reasoned.

And by lackeys she meant fan boys, a rather useful bunch once you learn how to manipulate them.

"Yeah, don't worry so much about it." Yu added, giving a flirtatious smile, "Unless you're busy enjoying the view?~"

"View…?" Kamui muttered confused, turning to the crowds below, "Indeed, the sight of the many citizens at ease with the presence of heroes warms my heart."

"I see…" Yu muttered, not really meaning that when she said view.

 _By view, she meant cleavage._

Uwabami grabbed her phone and scrolled through the messages, exhaling at the find, "Okay, it was nice meeting you Wood guy! I've got an advertising campaign to deal with so enjoy the view!~"

 _By view, she also meant cleavage._

"Bye 'bami-chan!"

As soon as Uwabami got out of sight, Yu could not help but wonder what Shirou was doing by now…

Eh, as Uwabami said, Shirou was probably fine!

After all, what could possibly happen?

* * *

Shirou slid under a spider like faux villain, and stabbed from the underside earning himself three points. He ignored the mild irritation in his knees from performing such an endeavor and focused more on the total points he had accumulated.

A total of sixteen points so far.

Despite his head start, he noticed that the faux villains were more widespread and based on his observations, actively seeking those whose quirks caused a larger commotion. His swords, while superb in dealing with the machines, did not cause enough of a commotion that would draw in the faux villains.

Within the faux city, there was no other examinees around him, all having moved further into the city. This was to be expected, as most of them ran straight towards the center. Shirou on the other hand stuck to less easy to ambush areas and destroyed faux villains that wandered the outskirts.

Clearly that plan wasn't working so he decided to amend it by venturing into the center as well.

Hopefully he could earn some more points by–

A scream drew his attention.

Without hesitation, Shirou enhanced his legs and ran. He was smart enough however to know that there were cameras keeping an eye on him, so he made sure that his movement was still within basic human capabilities.

Upon turning a corner, he saw two examinees. One of them was someone with simple bulging muscles, but the other was the girl he had been talking to minutes prior.

Despite the low amount of faux villains surrounding them, they seemed to be lethargic. Their combined movements were sluggish and no matter what they weren't moving from their spot. Instead, their arms were raised in defiance, eyes hard and bodies ready to move at any second.

What was the reason to why they didn't move? Shirou got his answer the moment he laid eyes on what was behind them.

They were defending a fallen examinee.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Shirou smiled. So he bolted forward with mild reinforcement and cleaved through a faux villain, surprising the two examinees.

"Sorry about intruding," Shirou said, raising both swords to deal with the rest of the faux villains.

"Its fine man," the muscled one said, biting into a chocolate bar despite the absurdity of the situation, "Any longer and we would have been toast,"

"Well, if it isn't the sword guy!" The earphone girl shouted, bending over a swing from a one pointer and kicking it away with a metal boot. "We can chat after we deal with these guys!"

Shirou nodded and proceeded eliminating the remaining faux villains alongside the two examinees.

Shirou avoided another predictable swing from a double point faux villain, and cleaved its head off. After doing so he avoided the next charge attempt from a triple pointer.

It honestly would be a pretty devastating blow if it landed on a regular human, however since he was reinforced at the moment, he could easily swerve around the charge and deal the finishing blow to the faux villain from behind.

Quickly spinning on his heel, Shirou grabbed another faux villain and threw it over his shoulder, crashing it into a third faux villain.

Once again, reinforcement was a really helpful tool, especially since these faux villains were somehow extremely lighter than expected.

Shirou gave a quick glance around the area, confirming the overall safety of it. Once satisfied, he lowered his swords and gave a soft sigh, sending a glance to the worn out examinees.

"You two okay?" Shirou asked,

They both nodded, the earphone girl exhaled hard and said, "Kind of wish you came earlier… actually I don't remember your name,"

"You never asked actually," Shirou replied, "It's Emiya Shirou."

"Jiro Kyoka" She replied, but then turned to the muscled one, "What about you?"

"I'm Sato Rikido," He replied, walking over to the unconscious one.

"So, is this guy you're friend?" Shirou asked, walking towards the two, who were both panting and wheezing, albeit with stunned expressions. Most likely due to his swordsman ship, neither of them having expected him to quickly dispatch the faux villains.

"Yeah, he's my friend from middle school," Sato replied, heaving the fallen examinee over his shoulders gently, "I promised his mother that I'd look after him."

"We were lucky you showed up, we could have failed right there." Jiro said,

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Sato asked, "Not to be rude, but most sword schools haven't really been around since quirks took front and center."

"I'm mostly self taught," Shirou replied,

"Mostly, meaning someone taught you then?" Jiro cut in, kicking a faux villain for the heck of it as well.

"My teacher believed in self training…"

Either way it was a lucky break for all three of them. They earned a substantial amount of points from that alone, however Shirou still had only twenty four, that still didn't let him pass. Even when he took a majority of the faux villains around them.

"I'll be going now, stay safe." Shirou said, jogging off towards the fighting. Faintly acknowledging the words of thanks that came from them. They were nice people, willingly helping a fallen comrade, even if one of them was only there from being cornered.

Actually wait, she couldn't abandon them even if she was able to. No unheroic acts were allowed, which meant willingly abandoning allies was a very big no in the schools books, right?

He did feel good about helping them though.

However a sudden explosion scrapped the pleasant mood away.

Shirou turned a corner and saw… saw…

 _This was the fourth obstacle._

That was the only thought that ran in Shirou's head as he saw the giant lumber above the buildings, a colossal hand raised and smashing through buildings like they were nothing but Styrofoam. The giant faux villain was obscenely larger than the other three faux villain models, it was powerful enough to destroy buildings, and above all it was dangerous.

Could it be used in wars? Imagine sending such a huge faux villain against an enemy army. Unless they had some kind of heavy artillery, they wouldn't be able to deal any substantial damage to it.

No sane person would willingly seek to fight this obstacle whatsoever, and frankly speaking Shirou wasn't sure if he could take the thing down without using a Broken Phantasm or two, revealing magic in the process.

… However despite the huge walking pile of mass destruction that lumbered before him, it that wasn't what truly assaulted the thoughts within his head.

The giant shuffled over, examinees ran past Shirou in fear, each and every singly one of them unwilling to face such a being and more acting on the natural fight or flight instinct present within all living beings.

It was this reaction that caused none of them to spare a glance at the solitary girl, frozen in fear and no doubt exhaustion, eyes staring at the foreboding and crumbling building turning to rubble… ready to fall down upon her.

Even if Shirou could, there wasn't enough time to create a chain and wrap it around her similar to what a certain golden king would do, nor was there enough time for the girl to escape by herself even if she had the strength to do so, especially with what expression she held in her eyes.

If she was simply left there, if no one did anything at all, those were the eyes that held fear, would become eyes that would hold despair.

Shirou ignored the familiar cries of him getting back, and simply ran towards her, not giving a single damn if his reinforcement was shown to the world in the common view, and enveloped himself around the surprised girl, his arms wrapping protectively as he reinforced his entire body to its maximum potential…

… Allowing all of the rubble, girders, concrete, and debris to fall down upon him.

* * *

 **A/N: Shirou is now taking the exam, I know that this was a cliff hanger... but this is kind of where I envisioned the chapter to end, so I'm ending it here. Happy New Years everybody! Overlord has a second season, new Foreigner class servant, a stupid foreigner at a certain forest, and an overall mixed start to the year.**

 **Shirou met Jiro here and Sato obviously, but not much interaction was provided on the base reasoning that this was an exam. No one is going to willingly spend more time than necessary when it could be spent trying to gather more points. I hope you'll forgive the rather cliffhanger ending.**

 **Replying to Guest reviews is literally impossible so I've resorted to saying some replies here. If the person in question left a review using an account this whole thing could have been dealt with through the use of the private message feature.**

"Shirou does have a mother like figure her name is Taiga Fujimura. Hell he even has grandfather-ish figure too of Raiga Fujimura who's also the head of the local yakuza. Please you really need to research fate more. UBW is just a fragment of Shirou's character and back story. All you're doing is rehashing Taiga and Shirou's relationship with Yu. Whatever you're trying to do with Yu, Taiga has already done with Shirou, she's even his teacher."

 **I've shown the review to give context. First off, Taiga is a hundred percent a big sister role to Shirou, not that of a mother. A grandfather figure like Raiga too wouldn't yield the same result as a mother would (I would know, my grandpa gives a different kind support). Stating that I need to research the Fate-verse more is not wrong, but in the context of this review I'll have to thoroughly disagree. **

**As for the rehashing Taiga part, I'll just mention right now that Taiga shares similarities to Yu only due to the fact that they have similar core principles around them. They are both upbeat, and are both headstrong. Nothing I can do will change that fact, Kohei Horikoshi made her that way, so I wont do him disrespect by abhorrently making her do things that realistically she wouldn't do. Even if Taiga was his teacher, that segment of their relationship would not affect the overall premise.**

 **Yu and Shirou are both trying to live together and show each other their good points. Taiga was less that and more like a moocher that Shirou had to deal with for a significant period of his life, it is in here that the difference is beyond clear. There is an equal living with Yu, but with Taiga its like your neighbor decided to barge in and eat with you. No disrespect to the reviewer or to Taiga herself, but this difference should be clear right? (I would agree to have a conversation about this topic through Private Messaging should the reviewer decide that it is worth their time)**

 **Leaving that topic, I personally like the monthly schedule that I maintain so I'm going to promise the next one to be out somewhere during Mid-February or sooner if my school work manages to be lenient (I seriously doubt it).**

 **Finally closing the Poll, the most votes was "Do what you want" and since I'm a lazy bastard, I'm leaving it in as a reminder of my mistakes. First fan fictions often don't do to well and personally still surprised at the sheer amount of follows. I guarantee whatever I put out next will do worse.**

 **Hopefully by now I've went back and re-edited chapters and fixed some grammar errors. Any errors or pet-peeves you have for this chapter will be appreciated. Send regards and thanks to L33t Horo, we've been somewhat arguing over the central ideas and future plotlines of this fic and most of it has generally been enlightening. Not much has truly changed per say, but some future points I had were mostly scrapped in favor of some better ideas in a way.**

 **Ragdoll is a breed of cat apparently.**

 **Don't have the slightest idea where a certain guest thought I was making Gilgamesh a girl, there were literally no indications of that ever occurring.**

 **Kappa**


	12. Chapter 11 - Sword and Stone

**Chapter 11**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

* * *

 _Where am I?_

Those were the first words the girl thought.

She didn't know, but she did know that it was dark and that something was wrapped around her. It was almost like she was restrained by the darkness itself, a firm grasp held.

She tried moving but whenever she did, she could feel vibrations from the ground aggravating. The more she moved the more the vibrations occurred.

 _What was going on?_

It's dark, her head hurt, and above all, she could barely move.

"Are you… okay?"

The sudden voice sent surprise shivering through her, however, that wasn't what was really shocking. It was the mere proximity, how close the voice was to her ear.

Someone was covering her– this strangers body was pressed incredibly close to hers!

She struggled and writhed, hoping to wrestle freedom from the man's grasp, and as she did so the vibrations all around them amplified.

"Stop!" He cried, voice stopping with the surprising urgency. "The walls will… collapse if you keep moving."

 _Walls? Collapse?_

Those few words were something that nagged at the back of her head so she willingly stopped.

"Explain," She found herself asking, the monotone of her voice making her sound all the more serious.

"The zero point faux villain destroyed the buildings in the alleyway you were in," He answered truthfully. "There wasn't enough time to get you out so I had to protect you."

 _Protect? Her?_

"So we're under… rubble?" She hesitantly asked.

"Yes."

The absolute honest dread in his tone did wonders for her rising panic.

"How do we get out…?" She whispered, seeing no more reason to talk aloud.

"We need to wait for the other examinees or the staff to dig us out." He answered. "But other than that I don't think there's much we can do…" He shuffled a bit, but not enough to cause vibrations. "Sorry about the positioning, I had no options unless you wanted to be crushed by rubble."

"It's okay."

A few moments of awkward silence pass until she grew fed up with it. She may not be as expressive as most of her friends but she knew how to hold a conversation…

Actually, most conversations she had were mostly done through nods and shakes of her head, but conveying her thoughts within a pile of debris where no one would actually care, why not?

"Kodai Yui."

"Pardon?"

"Since we're stuck together, we might as well get to know each other," She reasoned in her monotone voice, mostly to herself. "I believe I barely have enough points to pass the practical, but I know my written exam is good enough for me to pass. How about you?"

The man chuckled, obviously finding some kind of humor within the precarious situation they were in.

"My name is Emiya Shirou, and I believe I had something close to twenty-four points… Not enough to pass this exam no matter what my written portion score might be."

Kodai frowned despite the fact that none of them could notice it.

"Sorry about that. If I hadn't overused my quirk then you wouldn't be here. We could have left already maybe."

"You have a Quirk that could get us out of here?" He asked curiously, but she could tell from his tone that he doesn't expect to be able to leave.

They were both probably as exhausted as a fat man in the summer heat.

"My quirk is named Size, it allows me to manipulate the size of objects around me," She answered. "It doesn't work on living things, but I think I can shrink some debris for some leeway."

"That could threaten the structural integrity of this place," He argued. "The rocks could shift and we'd both be crushed alive."

She frowned and nodded, then mentally berated herself since none of them could see in within the dark chamber.

"Okay, so how about I enlarge some of the debris?"

"It would create a more stable foothold, I suppose." He honestly said.

Which was good, she had enough power to grow some of the concrete around her and–

Whatever thoughts she had were cut off the moment she accidentally felt the arm to her left.

It was the Emiya's arm.

In that fleeting moment of contact, she knew that they were tensed, exerting force so strenuous that any more weight piled on his arm muscles itself may rupture. If she grew the debris, there would be more support for the Emiya to rest on, allowing his arms to rest and aid them… There was a problem, though…

She didn't have enough strength to shift the size of enough objects around her, which only meant that whatever she did could serve to destabilize the debris around them.

"This isn't good…" she murmured. "I can't enlarge or shrink enough of the objects around us. Either way, we'd be crushed."

She felt that he knew it too, but said no further words in favor of making sure they weren't crushed.

Not too mention… she couldn't even reach far enough to any of the debris. It was like she was trapped in an oven, with the Emiya as the protective wrapping around her.

She wanted to berate herself. This stranger was suffering intensively all because she failed to run away from a dumb slow robot. If only she had run faster, then they both could have been earning more points.

Why did he save her anyway? He could have gone his way and gone after the other faux villains… Actually, they were stuck together, so why not ask?

"Why did you save me?" She asked. "If you hadn't then you'd be earning enough points to pass at this stage."

She swore she could practically hear the disbelief with his tone.

"Why?" He mused. "You look afraid, so there was nothing else I could do but help out."

 _What?_

"Are you serious?" She asked, despite the monotone voice, she was filled with confusion.

"Yes?" He continued. "Why wouldn't I be?"

This person went and saved her because she looked afraid? That was… Not even funny how laughable of a reason that was. It was like the bad reasoning an anime protagonists would have to save everybody.

The shivering came upon them once more, however, it wasn't actually from the walls.

"Are you alright?" She asked, noticing how much harder it is for him to maintain the elevation he was at.

"Yeah… just fine."

That was a lie.

They had been under the rubble together for less than a few minutes and she already knew it was a lie. Was this person _that_ inherently bad at lying?

Mustering up a bit of courage and praying a tad bit to her luck, she squirmed under his protective vigil in order to reach some of the objects around them ever so slightly.

Just a proper grasp with all her fingers and there would be some stable ground for the Emiya. It was a gamble where one wrong move could destabilize the entire mound… but she had to take it, otherwise, the Emiya's pain would continue, and he would eventually fall.

The attempt, however, was noticed.

"Kodai-san?!"

"It's fine, all I have to do is be careful," She reasoned. "This is just to help you out."

After all, he was above her and basically taking the full brunt… of the… damage.

 _Oh no._

"Emiya, how is your back?" She spoke up clearly to be heard.

It seemed that she had finally noticed the fact that she never felt a bit of rubble on her apart from on her sneakers, the damn fool was ensuring that she had a safe haven under him while he took the full force of the damage!

How much pain was he in!? His back must have been murdered from the shrapnel, his bones could be fractured, and worst of all her squirming was no doubt making it worse!

He was already barely hanging on there as it is!

"It's fine–"

"No it's not," she said. "You are definitely in pain. I can feel that your arms are straining."

"It's fine, I can handle it," he said, but even she knew that it was just a lie to convince even himself.

"Just relax your arms slightly, okay?" She said. "It won't be good to have them be in pain all the time."

 _Let me share some of the burdens._

Emiya simply sat there but didn't move.

"Rest just a bit, okay?"

After a few moments of deliberation, he conceded and just lightly lowered himself–

 _It felt like a damn anvil!_

Like she was a pillow crushed between two rocks! Her body flinched in pain and–

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that," he apologized. "I tried to make sure you only got half the weight, but it looks like it was too much."

 _Shouldn't have… shouldn't have done that?_

The moment the Emiya pushed himself back up, she felt that sudden weight of pain disappears…

All that weight held on the back of his shoulders… Just him, only the sheer debris as his enemy.

It was at this point Kodai herself wished that she could do at least something! There was literally nothing she could do! Shrinking debris would yield no positives, even enlarging debris wasn't enough to help with a new found reason being that he was sandwiched between her and about several tons of debris!

 _Seriously, how much damn debris is on his back!?_

Her quirk would only destabilize the whole mound. It wouldn't help… then how about his?

"Emiya what is your Quirk? We could use it to help our situation or possibly get out." She asked.

She heard a grunt of pain, and then a reply. "My quirk isn't going to help here. I can create swords, but it's too dark. I don't know whether the swords I create will be able to find stable footing to act as support beams, nor am I sure if the swords I create would end up stabbing one of us by accident."

She frowned in frustration… While his quirk was admittedly impressive, how could he gain… "Is there anything else you can do?" She added to her inquiry. "My quirk can grow and shrink, is there anything else you can make, anything at all?"

He fell silent and grunted.

"I may be able to make a few other bladed weaponry, but swords are the easiest to create."

 _Weaponry?_

"How about a shield?"

She swore that the Emiya was deliberating.

"… It might be possible, but it'd be a pretty mundane shield. I haven't really tried making a proper shield before."

"Can you make one for your back at least?" She reasoned. "If the debris is stabbing into you that hard then you could gain some protection that way. At least until the U.A. staff get us out of here."

Another grunt.

"Cant, not enough space at the moment…"

 _Space, huh?_

She wrapped her arms around his back.

She found that she could touch the debris behind him.

"If I shrink the debris behind you just a bit, do you think you could make a shield right behind you at that exact moment?"

She could tell that he was once again trying to decide.

"… Wouldn't it hurt for you if this happens? The moment you shrink the debris and I make the shield, the combined weight will topple on it and sandwich you between me and the concrete floor."

True, she was already getting rashes from her squirming earlier. The occasional ant that was hidden under with them didn't help either.

"It's fine, I'd rather feel a moment of pain rather than a slow painful death as the guy protecting me fainted from the constant digging pain."

"… You have a point."

"On three, make the shield," She ordered, to which she guarantee knew he was going to do it.

She breathed in and out. "One… two… three!"

"Trace on!"

She shrunk the debris behind him and dragged her hands away, just in time to see a flash of blue happen above her, giving a clear view of a large great shield with a fur back took shape, which fell and rested on the Emiya's back.

However, the momentary moment of vision was as gone as fast as it appeared, allowing the sudden surge of pain come back as the debris above them unsettled and shifted like a raging storm.

Oh god did it hurt, it was like a coffin where she'd be buried. In fact, she felt that her ribs nearly cracked from that.

It took nearly a minute for the debris to stop shaking.

"Are you okay?" He asked with worry.

She felt him raise himself a bit higher, meaning that he could deal with the pain, or that the pain on his back no longer existed.

"Stylish shield," She commented.

"It was the comfiest one I could recall." He admitted.

At least they were both finally comfortable. It didn't make for a good conversation when the other guy had rubble, debris and some girders digging into his back.

"So… Trace on?" She inquired.

"It helps me focus on making things other than swords," He claimed.

She could believe that after all when she was younger she would use phrases to go big or small. Almost all children with quirks call out transformation or attack names out of the blue.

Luckily, most people that knew her forgot about that embarrassing portion of her history.

She shuffled a bit and sighed.

 _This was going to be a long wait._

* * *

Aizawa kept his eyes trained on all the monitors, evaluating examinees alongside his coworkers.

His frown was permanently prevalent alongside his tired eyes. None save for a handful of examinees were even worth looking over. However, the handful he had in mind was among the creme of the crop, and he was sure that even the less agreeable co-workers would agree with him.

Shoji Mezo, a student that displayed an excellent ability to detect faux villains and exterminate them through brute strength alone. Tracking ability in summation.

Aoyama Yuga, while not his top pick, does not show hesitance in dealing with faux villains, remaining level headed and calm enough to deal with situations as they arise… Though Aizawa was not sure whether he was calm due to the situation or just from the narcissism emanating from himself.

Iida Tenya, a complete opposite to the Mezo boy's approach. Instead of going for a vantage point and eliminating the targets, he runs off into the thick of things and analyzes the situation on the fly. Dealing with any that come his way using his mobility and quickly moving to the next he can locate, made much more viable due to the speed at which he could run.

Then there was Bakugo Katsuki.

A rather rude and rough fellow. However, despite those flaws, there was no denying the skill and pure innate battle instincts that overflowed him, dealing with faux villains, using his explosions to cause a commotion, drawing in more villains, and repeating the cycle. It didn't really sit well that the brat seemed to be cursing a bloody storm just from the way his lips moved, but all kids nowadays curse he supposed.

On the other side of the spectrum, there were two students who did not destroy faux villains but immobilized them.

Two that stood out were Mineta Minoru and Bondo Kojiro. The both of them utilizing the adhesive nature of their quirks to completely eliminate their respective movements, earning themselves a handful of points.

If it was a real-life situation, those adhesive quirks would be hard to deal with in a battle scenario if trained well enough. In addition, such quirks are highly valued by the police force due to the fact that they could capture villains far easier as compared to the average Pro Hero and with less effort.

… Even if one of them seemed to be trying to peek up damn skirts during the exam.

There were a few other notable examinees… however, unfortunately, they were in Battle Center A. This meant that all the possible faux villains they could be fighting were taken by the explosive brat.

Despite all of that though, Aizawa gave more thought towards Battle Center G. The examinees that were thrown in there were somewhat lesser than the other battle centers. In honesty Aizawa wanted to evenly split all the examinees across the battle centers, however, due to a time constraint, they were unable to.

There was a standout examinee there, and Aizawa was not surprised whatsoever to find it was the brat that Mount Lady adopted.

The moment the exam started, the boy aimed right between the plating and had cleaved through a faux villain with ease. Not really surprising seeing as he held himself against a serial killer 'the beast' for a substantial amount of time, something which Aizawa begrudgingly admitted.

Aizawa kept an eye on him throughout, noting on how he had weaved around the faux villains and struck them down before moving around the area clockwise. He was not roaming aimlessly, much like the other examinees. He also positioned himself away from corners and alleyways, areas where he could be ambushed, however, it did not seem to be on purpose, more likely a force of habit.

Battle instincts and a level headed attitude, an admirable outlook to have during a multitude of situations.

The brat had stared death in the face and only cared to save more lives, it was not surprising to see that he was calm in the face of the minimal threat that was the faux villains represented. Even displaying some of his usual hero complex tendencies when directly helping out three of his fellow examinees. That earned him a few rescue points for certain.

… However, the moment the zero-point faux villain appeared was when the proverbial shit hit the fan. On two separate battle centers, Midoriya Izuku on one, and the Emiya brat in the other.

The Midoriya kid had leaped from the ground and smashed the zero-pointer faux villain onto the ground. However, in doing so he had shattered his arm and legs. Luckily he was saved by the same girl he tried saving, however that luck was not something he should be relying upon.

It was abnormal, someone with a self-harming quirk or even a quirk that they cannot control well would be a liability. They'd both be unreliable and short-lived career-wise. No matter, if the brat failed the quirk assessment test tomorrow then he'd be getting the boot.

Better alive with hope for better than dead with hopes never realized.

Then there was Shirou… He had seen the brat rush in headfirst towards a girl quaking in fear and got crushed by rubble, hopefully still alive by the time they could dig him out.

Luckily the exam had ended moments after, this allowed Recovery Girl and a handful of other rescue Heroes to the make their way to the centers.

He would've gone out and joined them honestly, but he had no way to help other than to pick up a rock or two one by one with his bare hands. He wasn't really allowed to leave the booth anyway, due to the fact that he had to grade the examinees.

Recovery Girl was heading to the more pressing matter of Midoriya Izuku – broken limbs and all that – and allowed the rescue Heroes to burrow through the rubble on the brats end. She'd rejoin them once she was done with him, however, to treat the injuries that Mount Lady's brat no doubt sustained.

It was best to leave the job to those more experienced. That was what Aizawa believed.

The fact that the rubble shifted ever so slightly multiple times was a good sign, but a worrisome one too. The wrong move could crush both buried examinees even further.

As to how the brat himself was still alive and kicking under the thing he didn't know. He could have made something as elaborate as a cage of swords– no too fantastical even for him, maybe the girl had something? Then again, based on the file he read, Kodai Yui only had size morphing abilities, which might be a reason as to why the rubble shifted so many times.

Aizawa sighed, he should be busy checking through the written exams at the moment but here the brat is dragging himself into such situations.

On the brighter side, due to his actions, the two boys had earned a substantial amount of rescue points from the suicidal actions. The brats would pass and be handed off into his class, which meant–

He had two kids with a Hero Complex in his class.

Ah screw it, there was nothing he could do right now but to wait. Useless worrying within the viewing booth wouldn't do anyone any good. Knowing this, Aizawa turned to the exit.

 _Might as well get a cup of coffee._

A co-worker of his bumped into him, spilling some coffee on his shirt, but luckily not on any of the paperwork or any of the examinee's test sheets.

… Scratch that, he was going to the damn pub and drink himself into a dreamless stupor.

* * *

By the time the rubble was cleared, Chiyo frowned, finding the same boy she had diagnosed months ago on a stretcher, with his arm muscles overstrained, his back was black and blue with some lacerations, and finally knees scrapped from the rough concrete floor.

He wasn't in any worse condition as compared to All Might's inheritor, at least his limbs weren't bent beyond repair for any other nurse except her, but he was still in bad condition. Broken bones, ripped muscle tendons, multiple bruises on his back, and bleeding from the aforementioned back.

Then there was that odd shield alongside him too, which was odd seeing as she remembered his file stating it was a sword creation Quirk… Based on how the shield itself disappeared, did he discover a new thing to create? Perhaps there was more to his quirk than what meets the eye?

Wouldn't really be surprised if the kid lied to the authorities initially if she was honest. He seemed like the secretive type when up against authorities.

"Will he be okay?" The quiet girl asked,

Kodai Yui, if her file had read correctly. She was one of the students that passed and would be sent to Class B.

Her lips extended, and impacted his skin, allowing the wounds to begin healing themselves.

It wasn't really healing per se, but more increased rejuvenation through the utilization of the subject's stamina. Too much drainage on the subject's stamina could result in death, so she was still very cautious whenever she used her quirk.

However, in this case, she didn't need to be cautious.

The moment she had her lips impact his skin, she sensed something odd. Something was rippling beneath his skin, but Chiyo had no idea what it was. Had something else happened to him while he was underneath that rubble?

It wasn't just the odd rippling, even when she was using her quirk, it should not be healing this quickly. It was as if something else was supplementing his body's natural regeneration. What it was, Chiyo also didn't know.

Thinking back to that fateful alleyway, she had been careful not to drain away his stamina when she rejuvenated him. She didn't want to use her quirk on him so much when he was already so close to death.

If she had used her quirk on him longer, would this strange occurrence have happened too?

It appears that the boy's quirk had more secrets than she thought.

That was fine, everyone was entitled to their secrets. When the boy was ready, he will tell those he trusted. It wasn't a good idea to force such things out of people until they trusted you a hundred percent.

It looks like both the boys she healed today had their own fair share of secrets.

Once the wounds had disappeared and the fractured bones mended, only the ruined shirt and ripped jeans remained.

"He'll be fine," Chiyo finally responded. "The only problem is that he'll be tired when he wakes up, but that's it." She turned to her. "Don't you need any medical attention? I see that you're struggling to stay standing."

Kodai gave a slow nod, mostly due to the pain she imagined.

After a quick smooch, the girl wobbled a bit, feeling the strange feeling spread across her body. This was a natural reaction, seeing as her stamina was being drained as fast as possible to mend her broken bones and scraps.

She had taken the least damage between the two of them, which Chiyo knew the exact reason as to why. Shirou himself had taken the majority of the damage from the rubble and left the girl relatively safe. It was an admirable trait, one that should be somewhat prevalent in Heroes.

Although she supposed that it was much too prevalent within this one… she sighed.

"T-Thank you," Kodai uttered, shrugging off the odd feeling that overcame her.

"Don't mention it, child," Chiyo replied. "Run along now, the results will be sent to you next week."

She seemed to look hesitant, staring somewhat guiltily at the unconscious one. "… He suffered a lot because of me," she said. "Would he resent me?"

"Knowing this boy myself personally, not at all," Chiyo replied,

"Why? He won't be able to pass with his current score," She muttered,

 _Mount Lady's kid told her his score? Isn't that surprising?_

"He is similar to a student I had a long time ago," Chiyo shared with a smile. "This kid would not regret saving you even if he didn't pass our exam…"

 _Not that he'd fail._

In response to her question, Chiyo stayed silent... only to chuckle moments after, watching the girl who wore a conflicted expression.

"Just relax. After all, didn't I tell you?" She mused. "He'll be fine."

* * *

A week had passed since his collapse at the Hero exam. His thoughts were swimming and he couldn't quite shake the feeling of disappointment.

Quite a few things happened during the week and a quick summation would only yield two events. The first, his quirk registry was updated by Yu when he was still unconscious, making it Weaponry Creation instead of Sword Creation.

It was great. Honestly, it meant that he could trace other weaponry and not limit himself to just swords. Other weaponry such as polearms and daggers could prove useful depending on the situation.

The second thing was that Tsukauchi had visited, stating that he was merely checking up on him. Over the months prior, Shirou honestly could say that he trusted the man. He was both responsible in his work and understanding to other peoples situations.

However, the actual topic of his thoughts wasn't any of the previous two.

Shirou did not earn enough points, he failed the practical portion.

He had accumulated only twenty-four points in total, which was rather easy due to the malleable nature of the faux villain outer materials. He, however, lacked the amount necessary to pass even if he scored a hundred percent on the written exam.

In addition, the results of the written exam were somewhat unclear too, the majority of them have questions about morality. He was sure that he passed the questions that spoke of the multiple rules and extra subject matters, but since it was the principal who checked the morality portion of the exam, it was somewhat subjective.

"Shirou? You okay over there?" Yu asked whilst signing a pile of photos with her autograph, however, there was a hint of worry in her tone.

He could appreciate the concern, even if he still didn't see how signing autographs were considered Hero Work at all.

Her worry was also warranted, after what happened during the examination. He only survived after reinforcing his body to the utmost limit to tank it all. He was also surprised that he was able to walk home in a somewhat manageable condition. Recovery Girl definitely earned that name.

"Yeah," He replied. "I'm good."

Yu lowered the side of her lip, she didn't really believe him. "Is this about the exam? Do you think that you didn't pass?"

To her surprise, she saw Shirou nod. "My written exam result might be unclear, but I'm sure that my practical exam points don't match the passing grade."

"Ah, I remember that part of the exam now…" Yu muttered. "I crushed most of the robots and toppled that big guy,"

With her Gigantification quirk, that made sense. She was about as tall as the faux villain at that height and could probably shove it easy. Despite that, it was still a Quirk that could harm others accidentally. Size had its ups and downs when you were that big.

"So how many practical points did you get from the faux villains?" She asked while signing the photos.

"Twenty four," He answered. "Not enough to pass the sixty thresholds."

"Wow, that sucks," She bluntly said. "I'd thought you'd at least get forty points with that sword creation quirk of yours."

Shirou nodded, his own estimations had it at around sixty himself, but if he hadn't saved Kodai Yui then he was guaranteed to pass. His dream to become a Hero wouldn't be achieved in U.A. it seemed…

He doesn't regret rescuing her though, not one bit at all.

"So, how many rescue points did you get? You'd need like a butt load of those to pass."

… _What?_

"Rescue points?" Shirou asked. "What are those?"

Yu looked at Shirou, widened her eyes slowly and then slammed her forehead. "Ah damn, I forgot that I wasn't supposed to tell you!" She berated, mentally cursing Aizawa. "Ah screw it, you already got an idea about what those points are for right? They're earned through doing Heroic acts during the exam."

 _Wait… what? Shouldn't something like that be publicly announced...? No, if it was then everyone would be running about trying to save others for their own selfish reasons…_

Shirou widened his eyes and tapped his chin… Actually, there was definitely a hint in the initial speech given by Present Mic.

He had told others that unheroic actions were prohibited… would that indirectly infer to the examinees that heroic acts were encouraged? However, why would there be a need to perform such actions–

 _The fourth faux villain!_

Of course! The gigantic faux villain's purpose was to incite fear and unease to all the examinees. It gives the opportunity to perform the indirectly promoted heroic acts in order to earn the rescue points. However, there was a fact that most of the examinees there that trained to become Heroes had simply retreated or ran, ignoring all others.

They were thinking about themselves and their own chance to pass.

It was not wrong, to be honest, there was nothing for them to gain by saving others unless they worked out the rule beforehand… This exam was clever, surprisingly so.

"I wouldn't really know how many rescue points I got," Shirou replied, and he was entirely honest with that too. He didn't know how to quantify heroic actions at all.

"I guess that's true…" Yu frowned but nodded. "Let's forget about that for now. I have some news for you."

"What is it?"

"Remember 'bami-chan? The one who offered a scholarship" She asked and proceeded when he nodded. "She found someone else to give it to! She says that he's a little odd, but a good kid that you'd probably get along with."

 _Well wasn't that surprising._

Shirou simply rose an eyebrow. "How did she find him?"

"She was stopping a robbery and the kid helped out," she said. "That's all there is to that honestly. She says that you should be nice to him if the both of you get into the same class."

Shirou nodded, seeing nothing wrong with the request. If that guy got a scholarship then he must have impressed Uwabami. That itself was an achievement.

The ringing doorbell and sudden whistling of a kettle dragged both of their attention. "The stew seems ready, can you get the door Shirou?"

Shirou nodded and made his way to the front door, only to notice that a letter was slipped through it… a letter that contained the U.A. signature logo.

 _This was…_

He picked it up and walked into the living room, where Yu had set down the pot on the dining table, cutlery all and ready beforehand. "What was it Shirou?"

He held up the letter. "The results are in,"

Yu fell silent, and Shirou knew that she was willing him to open it.

He obliged, mostly to satisfy both of their growing curiosities. He removed the insignia and pulled out a printed letter. There was an odd odor drifting of the parchment but Shirou ultimately ignored it and began reading.

It was from Aizawa.

 _Look brat, I'll keep this short and simple._

 _You managed to pass the exam through a combination of a few faux villain points and several rescue points. In total it should be twenty-four faux villain points added to the grand total of fifty-one rescue points. Ten of those points are from helping out three examinees and the remaining forty-one were from burying yourself under rubble._

 _Add all that together and you got seventy-five points in total, putting you tied at the top of the examinees with another examinee._

 _Personally, I believe that it shouldn't be anywhere near that high, but it seems that the principal is a sucker for sob stories so your several minutes of suffering under the rubble were taken into consideration. Not that you cared about that pain anyway, which I know you didn't._

 _You're also in my class. Prepare either request or a design for your Hero costume and submit it to me before class starts or else you're using the Physical Education uniform. Don't slack off or I'll expel you._

 _That is all._

Shirou held the letter and began waving it around to see if he missed something else, but handed it Yu to see if she found something he missed.

The letter was just so… _blunt._

"Was Aizawa drunk or something when he wrote this?" Yu muttered, but neatly folded it and placed it back into the folder. "I thought this was supposed to be a hologram. What a waste of such a nice piece of paper– wait I can still smell the booze from this!"

 _Ah… so that was the odor._

Shirou sighed and walked to the dinner table. "Let's just eat for now. We can design the costume later."

Yu nodded, tossing the letter onto the sofa and made her way to the table.

"Congratulations for getting in, Shirou," Yu added with a smile,

Shirou could not help but smile in return. "Thank you, Yu"

Despite the bluntness of Aizawa's letter, he was truly glad. He was finally a step closer to hid dream, a step closer to becoming a Hero.

Now if only he was told about designing a costume sooner.

* * *

"This doesn't look good," Yu commented,

Shirou sat over a desk with his adoptive mother sat beside him, both of them currently overlooking a pile of scrapped paper on the kitchen table.

After dinner had finished, Yu decided it was best that they both worked on the costume. Despite what anyone else would say, Yu's input would be invaluable considering that she herself was a Pro Hero, any glaring features in the designs would probably be found by her quickly.

Granted Shirou himself could have found the weaknesses, but additional input never hurt anyone.

He blinked slowly as he began redrawing the base outline.

"Maybe we've been going about this all wrong," Yu said. "We need a design that works well with your quirk– Wait you're already versatile enough for every combat situation. What do we plan around…?"

She seemed to be racking her brain over it for a bit, but instead chose to comment. "I like the fingerless gloves, but why not rubber gloves?"

"I need to be able to feel my grip on the swords, gloves would make it a bit awkward to wield."

Which was true, it didn't feel right to hold a sword without feeling the handle itself. Perhaps it had something to do with his nature, but every time he wore gloves when he held a sword just made it an overall harder experience to wield.

"I see…" Yu muttered, humming a bit to herself, but blinking as if she had an epiphany. "You're good at combat situations right?" Yu asked. "So let's add functions that help out in other things. Maybe a pocket for bandages and pain relievers? Best be prepared for any situation right?"

A wave of drowsiness flooded his eyes, but he ultimately ignored it and nodded. "That's a good idea Yu."

He honestly didn't think of non-combat situations, after all, he always expected to be facing villains. He supposed that any way that could help him save lives were ideal.

Shirou scanned over the base design, trying to find something to add. There was already the steel-tipped boots, for convenience sake and for slightly harder kicks. There was a mini wrist guard that could be used for parrying should the need arise… and now there were pockets in the pants section to hold the things that Yu suggested.

Another wave of drowsiness assaulted him.

"Shirou?" Yu called concerned.

"Its nothing," Shirou said. "Just a little tired."

"Well, since classes are tomorrow, it won't do you any good to stay awake would it?" Yu said. "Just go sleep, I'll finalize the design and send it off to Aizawa."

Shirou looked at her for a bit, willing himself to retort, but the flash of drowsiness had nearly made him sleep right then and there.

Was he really so tired?

"Just don't add anything weird okay?" Shirou pleaded.

Yu nodded and watched him go off to his room to hit the hay. Taking a glance at the base design… She ignored the fact that she made their dinner especially sleep-inducing.

 _And without the use of sleeping pills! Wasn't that fantastic!?_

In all seriousness, Shirou needed all the rest he can get.

Having him sleep this early would only benefit his performance tomorrow, especially since Aizawa was his homeroom teacher. She remembered what Uwabami said about Aizawa's teaching method and suppressed the urge to worry further.

Perhaps it was best to just let Shirou deal with that, he was strong enough to pass whatever test Aizawa had in play.

She held the design in her hands and blinked at the colorization.

Maybe she could do a little something here?

The design said that all of it was supposed to be full black to fit into the night on stealth missions, but Yu found that tasteless and bland. He wouldn't be getting any fan girls with such dark and dreary clothing!

… Actually, maybe he still could, his personality was great and appealed to young women after all. She learned all about that when she took him to Uwabami's nearby studio. She thought that a prepubescent kid like Shirou would stutter himself into a mess when looking at beautiful models, but all he did was avert his eyes and remained respectful.

 _Maybe he was gay?_

Anyways… The design needed color!

Anything worked with the color black, even the girly pink! So all Yu had to do was choose a color and edit it a bit… What color would Shirou like the most here?

He seemed to be fond of the blue sleeved shirt he always wore.

Yu held a blue crayon and tried imagining Shirou in that position… Yeah no. No way in hell is he going to be wearing a Hero costume that looks practically the same as his usual clothing. She needed his hero costume to be as far away from that as possible.

So, she ignored blue and went for its polar opposite.

The color red.

She held a newly foraged red crayon, and stared at the design, overlapping some portions with the color… A neutral expression took shape on her face.

… Why was it that she couldn't shake off the feeling of melancholy?

She mentally tried swapping it with other colors, but no matter what, she'd always default back to the red crayon she held. It was as if this was the only color that paired well with the black in this design.

She'd like to think that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but she swore that the design was practically begging for the color red to be drawn in…

Well, screw it. Shirou won't be mad at all right? It wasn't anything weird, if he saw the final output then he'd see how perfect it was too.

With that comforting thought in mind, she continued through the night, only resting once the design was emailed to Aizawa.

The design of a red and black hero.

She liked the sound of that.

* * *

 **A/N: Working on editing previous chapters for errors, if you find any here then message/leave a review including it. Any and all pet peeves will be accepted.**

 **Didn't realize that I would write this chapter this quickly. Perhaps if school ends up being more lenient, I can continue at this pace (I doubt it, the difficult lessons have just started). This is a slow chapter mostly because I wanted the next chapter to begin Shirou's start in U.A., alongside the quirk assessment test.**

 **Can anyone tell me why FF tells me that I wrote almost 6.7k words when my WPS writer says 7.1k? (I'm poor, no Microsoft Word) If you can tell me the reason then I'd be grateful.**

 **Davinci Re-run event in JP, so I'll be busier this month.**

 **Not much else to say really (Except that I find it really weird that some people ship Shirou with a character after like a minute of talking with a person of the opposite sex, like seriously as much as I like all the girls in BNHA, I'd rather have romances naturally occur rather than forced).**

 **Final words will be this...**

 **D** _o_ **y** _ou_ **kn** _oe_ **d** _e_ **w** _e_ **y? (I love 2018 man)**

 **A/N 2: This part was added when I read the reviews that assumed the outfit to be Archers. A reasonable assumption, but I'll make it clear because it was my fault for being unable to properly describe what the outfit should look like at the current time. It does not look 100% like Archer's outfit** **.** **I had made changes and am currently working on the character shot including Shirou's costume with my brother (the one drawing it). I wanted to create a difference between this Shirou and the UBW one, so a different costume would be a good first step. I will, however, post a link in my profile once the image is done so that you all can use it as a reference.**

 **Apologies if you end up feeling disappointed with the decision.**

 **A/N 3: With the news of Kodai's actual quirk, I edited the scene from above with her just enough that it's compliant with canon, kinda. Her canon quirk is cooler too than with what I thought it was, which was a slightly more versatile version of Yu's quirk. It also comes with a Grammarly overhaul!**

 **Jeez, did I write this back in high school? That's a long time ago... I'm in college now!**


	13. Chapter 12 - Soaring Sword

**Chapter 12**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

* * *

Shirou had woken up early, so early in fact that the sun had yet to risen. He always had a habit to wake up during obscenely early hours, but it was particularly true in this case seeing as he had slept a lot earlier than before.

He had made himself a morning breakfast and packed a boxed lunch in his bag. It was all done in a leisure pace, seeing no reason to rush himself at five in the morning. After all, the trip to the school building itself only took around ten minutes just purely by walking.

He tapped a bit on the ankle tracker, making sure that it was tightly and neatly latched on. He didn't want the police to panic on a mistake he made. It had gotten somewhat loose after the fiasco at the examination after all.

Shirou rubbed it again, remembering that in a few days his probation period would end. He'd be free from the shackles that he himself agreed to wear.

He sighed, neatly patted down his uniform, and walked towards the exit.

Shirou stopped himself from turning the doorknob and turned his head back towards the rest of the apartment, a soft smile on his face. "Good morning Yu,"

"Waking up early and leaving without saying a word Shirou?" She commented, walking out of the hallway in her hello kitty sweatshirt, "That's going to leave a bad impression on however you want as a girlfriend, you know~?"

"Sorry, I didn't want to disturb you," He apologized sincerely.

"Well…" She mused, taking note of the sincerity with not so surprising ease, "Since I was sleeping like a baby a few minutes ago, I would say that you did a good job,"

She wasn't actually joking, he had taken great care to not make a sound even when he was cooking a few minutes ago. She just naturally woke up in time to see Shirou about to leave.

 _What luck, right?_

Perhaps today would be a lucky day for him?

"Are you sure you don't want to get back to sleep Yu?" He asked concerned, "You don't have any Hero work today so I thought you would be."

She also spent time adding finishing touches onto his costume design and submitting it to Aizawa, which must have taken quite a bit of time. In fact, he hadn't even had the chance to look over what changes she might have done, but knowing Yu none of the changes should actually matter much.

Yu nodded humming, taking steps towards Shirou while rustling her uncombed hair, "It's fine, Shirou," She gave his clothes a glance with a small smirk, "You look good in that uniform. Perfect don't you think? This is an important day after all."

Important day… Acceptance into the most prestigious hero course and his first day of class would classify as such. "Thanks, Yu… I suppose it is."

With a smile, her hand rose and ruffled his hair, "Good luck, Shirou." She gave a soft peck on his forehead, "Don't forget to make some friends too, okay?"

… The overall silence he had was somewhat off-putting, which Shirou knew was somewhat an unnatural response from him.

Shirou himself was trying to recall what he was supposed to do when a situation similar to this occurred, which never happened before seeing as Yu had been somewhat conservative in her approach to mothering him.

Considering the day, maybe she decided to take a different approach? Or was it after considering the several months that passed and their behavior together didn't align with what she was hoping for?

Either way, it did not change the surreal feelings of both confusion and… _something_. Sadly, he still didn't know what that _something_ was.

One final ruffle of his hair and Yu stepped away, lazily waving him off,

"Take care, Shirou."

Despite the flux of odd emotions he was feeling, he let a soft smile grow out from within him and nodded.

"I will, Yu."

* * *

Saying that he arrived early was an understatement.

There were no other students in class with him. It had initially taken a long time to locate his class, but Shirou was honestly feeling relieved. The classroom wasn't anything over the top, nor was it as grandiose as the auditorium from the practical exam orientation.

It was humble and welcoming, maybe that was its purpose? To allow students some reprieve after being sent through rigorous training or the hardship of being a Hero?

… Or maybe they had budget constraints? That was the most likely reason after seeing they had more than a few faux cities.

Shirou walked into the class and after a bit of deliberation, decided to grab a seat and sit… all the way in the far back. Where the seat had a number that said 'twenty one'.

Normally someone with a brain would sit in the front to pay attention to classes and not lose focus, but since he had already basically done all the non-hero related subjects he didn't actually need that advantage. He could let other students take that role and prosper.

The back of the class was also a strategical advantage. If there was a panic, he wouldn't have to fight for space or push through a crowd to take action, and he would be able to keep an eye on irregularities ongoing within the class.

Then again, those were assumptions he was working with. The school itself may be heavily guarded but that wouldn't excuse an attack from occurring. He learned that lesson from Shinji and Rider.

…

Great, now he was remembering when Rin stared at him in subtle fear. Walking through a bunch of unconscious students being slowly drained of life, with a perfectly stoic expression on their face, would unnerve anyone now that he thought about it.

The door behind him opened, revealing the honor student that reminded him of Issei, who stared at him with minor surprise. "Oh? A student who appeared earlier than me?" he muttered, before shaking his head and walking towards him.

"Greetings fellow student of U.A! I am from Somei Private Academy and my name is Iida Tenya. I hope we can get along!"

… _Perhaps he was more uptight than Issei?_

"Hello, my name is Emiya Shirou," Shirou calmly replied, "Nice to meet you,"

With a nod, Iida looked at his choice of seat and rose an eyebrow in confusion, "Pardon me for asking, but you do realize that there are in fact free seats in front of you?" A multitude of seats actually, "Seating yourself this far back would surely be disadvantageous to your education."

Shirou nodded, "It's fine, Iida-san. I studied a lot of the material for this year, I should be fine." He said, giving his reasoning. "The less studious should be up front."

Iida looked somewhat surprised at those words, however, he simply nodded with a smile, "I see, an admirable thing to do. Best of luck to you then, Emiya."

"Good luck to you too," Shirou replied, watching as he walked away and seated himself near the exit of the back door, which was seat number four. It was also somewhat near the back, but considering his outlook, Shirou wouldn't be too surprised if the apparent honor student had either thought of the same thing for his fellow classmates or took inspiration from him.

A few minutes had passed and students began filing in, occupying seats all around the class. However several were still somewhat empty, so they spent the time by themselves, staring off into the distance or messing around with their phones. It was understandable, almost nobody knew each other here. It would be awkward to just up and talk to random strangers.

It doesn't actually matter right now, once class starts all of them could introduce each other. All classes started out with that activity anyway so it should be fine.

Shirou could not help but let his gaze wander. He could see all his classmates from where he sat, so he just simply stared at each individual for a bit. There was a guy that had a tail, a pink girl with antennae, a birdman, and a guy with multiple limbs attached together with webbing. There were many more different quirks, all apparently good enough to be heroes based on the examination scoring of the school.

He was slightly overwhelmed if he were honest, and that wasn't including the fact that there was a second class with the same amount of students too. If he was measuring this correctly, there were over forty teenagers that had earned the right to be nurtured into heroes, allies of justice. Hopefully, Shirou would be able to – or allowed to – help them if they begin to struggle–

 _Hold on a minute… Are those floating clothes?_

No, it was moving as if it had limbs. A person? A quirk? How would the physics behind that work? Were all the organs invisible too? What about the food that she ate? It was wearing a skirt so saying it was a girl was a reasonable assumption, right?

The sliding of the main door everyone drew his attention away from the distraction only known as an anomaly of nature. Almost all the students had entered from that singular door, allowing two faces to appear in the doorway, both of whom were somewhat passively talking to each other. Both of them acting awkward, like most students would on the first day of school of course, but surely they were making an effort to erase that.

Notably, Shirou actually recognized those faces. It appeared that both of them had also recognized him and spared no time walking towards him.

"Yo, Emiya!" The familiar Jiro called with a rather relieved look, "Looks like you managed to pass!"

"Hello to you both, Jiro-san and Sato-san," Shirou greeted. "Congratulations on passing the entrance exam."

"I'm actually surprised you did pass," Sato mentioned, sending a slightly worried glance over to him, "You did get buried deep in that rubble,"

"You saw that?" Shirou asked a tad bit sheepishly, glancing away slightly.

"Of course we saw it," Jiro answered for him with a raised brow, "It wasn't hard to notice the rest of the examinees running away from a bulldozed building."

 _That was true._

"Did your friend make it?" Shirou asked Sato, however soon regretted that decision after the somewhat sad look in his eyes.

Sato shook his head with a soft frown, "Not really, he managed to earn enough points, but his written exam dragged him down."

"That's unfortunate…" Shirou commented.

"He's going to apply in another hero course at a separate school though." Sato added with a small smile, "Something as small as failing an exam wouldn't drag him down."

There was a story there, no doubt about it, but Shirou knew where privacy shouldn't be intruded. He kept his mouth closed, no doubt Jiro doing the same. His friend was still trying, which was good. Brains and brawn are both very important, but at least Sato's friend determined on becoming a hero.

The sliding door once more opened–

"Don't put your feet on the desk!"

Instantly, the classes collective attention was drawn away from the door and instead to two specific people. One was Iida, who seemed to be glaring in indignation, and the other was… rather familiar.

 _What was going on?_

"Ah?" The blond growled out, no doubt sending Iida a nasty glare. From where Shirou sat, he couldn't see his actual expression, however, something at the back of his mind already began to form a picture of his expression for him.

"Don't you think that's rude to the U.A. upperclassmen and the people who made the desk?" Iida berated.

"Not one bit! What junior high did you go to, you _side character_?" He taunted, no doubt with an arrogant smirk judging from the scandalized face from Iida.

 _Already an argument at the start of the school year?_

That had set a bar of expectation for the rest of the year Shirou was going to experience. Unfortunately, that bar wasn't set very high from the spectacle before him. Well, starting is one of the hardest things to do, even more so with strangers, but surely with time, this issue would fade, right?

On a side note, the blond teen's voice was familiar, but where did he…

 _Ah, wait a minute._

Wasn't he the rude blond who walked passed him at the entrance of the campus. He had also made it into the hero course? He seemed to wear his pride arrogantly, however, this was U.A., meaning he no doubt had the skills necessary if he had actually passed the practical exam.

 _Although that personality was definitely horrible._

Iida wore shock on his face but calmed himself down to reply civilly. "I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya."

"Somei? So you're a damn elite, eh?" He taunted, not even bothering to introduce himself in turn. Judging from the way he sneered with arrogance at everyone else in the class, he had absolutely no intention to do so. "Looks like I'll have fun crushing you!"

"C-Crushing!?" He blurted in shock at the words of his fellow classmate. "That's cruel! Do you truly aim to be a hero!?"

The rude teen no doubt already grew bored of Iida and gazed away rudely with a snort. However, that rude gaze seemed to focus on something else.

Naturally curious despite the distaste of each other being made clear, Iida followed with his gaze. "You are…" Iida muttered, and in turn, the entire classes did the same, finding a young man.

This then caused that same young man to panic at the sudden spur-of-attention.

 _Wasn't he the boy that nearly fell on his face?_

The boy in question seemed to be trying to gather himself to greet them but fell short when Iida left and walked towards him. No doubt being subtly glad that he was away from the rude teen.

"Good morning!" Iida greeted, "I am from Somei Private Academy–"

"–I heard!" The nervous teen interrupted.

"– and My name is…" Iida trailed off, no doubt being caught off guard by the interruption. In doing so he stopped his movement and remained frozen like a statue, most likely processing what to do next.

"I'm Midoriya. Nice to meet you, Iida." He greeted with a friendly yet awkward smile.

Iida seemed to gather his bearings but fell silent in silent contemplation.

"Midoriya, you realized there was something more to that practical exam, didn't you?" He declared, surprising some students with the new information, "I had no idea… I misjudged you, I hate to admit it, but you are better than me!"

It appeared that Midoriya and a few of the students in the class, including the rude teen, was confused somewhat. They all wisely remained silent in hopes of learning why and what they were missing.

In honesty, Shirou was not so confused. He was already told of the rescue points system by Yu so the shock factor wore off. However from the faces that those few students told him that they had managed to pass the exam through faux villain points alone.

Especially the rude teen, who looked the most confused. No doubt had thoughts in his head that tried to figure out something he missed in the exam. It was from his face alone that Shirou could tell why.

He had passed with just the faux villain points, just villain points. How many villain points, Shirou didn't know. However, if he fixed his attitude, then the rude teen would become a brilliant ally to rely upon in the future.

As he is now… Not so much.

It appeared that with his focus on the blond teen, Shirou had missed the arrival of the last missing student. She was the same girl that helped the panicking Midoriya from before, seemingly jumping in a weird mimicking of punches–

"Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends."

–And then a familiar drowsy voice interrupted their antics.

While the bubbly girl's demeanor changed into a silent panic, Midoriya, on the other hand, had peeked over her shoulder downwards to…

 _Is that a bean bag?_

Shirou admittedly could not see the entire thing from where he sat down, but the voice was loud enough for Shirou to fully acknowledge who it was.

"This is the hero course." He said, the sound of slight unzipping and loud sucking of a juice box echoed.

 _Aizawa… what are you doing down there?_

The students, who had no idea who he was, merely stared down at him in mock horror and shock. The moment he stood upright without much effort – miraculously without getting out of the sleeping – unzipped and stepped out of it like a butterfly from a cocoon. Not the best example of considering who the 'butterfly' in question was.

"Okay, it took you eight seconds before you were quiet," He said tired and monotonously, "Time is limited, you kids are not rational enough."

Stepping into the classroom, he gave each and every student a once over. Shirou didn't flinch when his gaze lingered on him for a short second longer. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota," He said, no emotion save for the few traces of subtle twitching his eye seemed to have, "Nice to meet you."

It seemed like a wave of shock rammed through all of Shirou's classmates, each of them sending weary glances at the man.

"Is he okay?" Jiro muttered, glancing at both what he was wearing and on how tired he seemed. "Looks like he could use a nap."

"He'll be fine," Shirou replied, "He always looks tired."

"You know the guy?" Sato asked in a soft murmur, not willing to draw the pair of tired eyes towards them. However, he failed once Aizawa let his eyes drift once more towards them – or more specifically, him.

"We have an unusual relationship," Shirou replied. Unusual was actually understating it. They always shared a glance at each other, none of them friendly. They were more like acquaintances that meet occasionally, which was true seeing as he had visited their home multiple times to check up on the ankle bracelet.

 _That and drink tea whenever he was haggard. Yu doesn't like it when he does that._

"It's kind of sudden…" He said, cutting through the awkward atmosphere, and dragged out a uniform. It was most likely their physical education uniform based on how it looked. Primarily blue with a few white and red stripes, uniquely shaped in a similar fashion to the school's logo itself. "… but put this on and go out onto the field."

Shirou wasn't actually sure which made him feel more tired, the odd glint in Aizawa's eyes – or the fact that the young Midoriya seemed to notice Aizawa's gaze.

With a sigh, Shirou grabbed a uniform and started to get dressed.

* * *

Shirou shuffled onto the field, pulling and tugging on the fabric of his uniform in order to stop the odd itching. It was probably nothing, seeing as he hadn't really worn something that looked – or felt like this.

"Over here Emiya!" Sato called, next to him was Jiro shuffling around slightly will tugging odd places on her uniform.

It appears that she too didn't like wearing it. They'd probably get used to wearing it sometime in the future.

Shirou walked over and joined them, letting a small smile wrap on his face.

"What took you so long Emiya?" Jiro asked, "Even the girls changed faster than you."

"I was having some trouble finding my way here. Not many of the staff were around to direct me."

"Seriously?" Sato chimed in, "What about the janitors?"

"I didn't see any around."

Jiro rubbed her chin, "Makes sense if you think about it you know. Its far too early into the day and school year for janitors to have any work to do."

Sato nodded at that, "That makes sense–"

"A Quirk assessment test!?"

The collective cry of the students was enough to draw their attention away from their conversation and towards the tired teacher standing with his back turned. His eyes narrowed in irritation as he picked his ear clean.

"What about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?" The young bubbly gravity girl said, and she was thoroughly justified in saying that. After all, unlike with Jiro, Sato and himself, the majority of the students still did not know each other very well.

An introduction to each other would have been a grand idea. In fact, the silent murmuring between a few of the students already made itself known.

"If you're going to become a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events." His words silenced them all, especially so since he hadn't turned to face any of them yet. "U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's also how the teachers run their classes."

He finally turned to give them a mere glance, but that single look all but screamed at them how much he could care less, "You kids have been doing these since junior high too, right…?" He rose a device containing several words. All of them were things like a long jump, sprint, and other such things. "… Physical tests where you weren't allowed to use your quirks."

Shirou could definitely remember a time in which he performed such things, particularly the memory of jumping over a high hurdle. In fact, to Rin, it was the same activity that made himself not just a faceless figure to be forgotten.

"The country still uses the averages results taken from students _not_ using their quirks," He sighed and seethed silently, "It's not rational… Well, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating as usual…"

He turned to face the rude teen standing in the front, a stark contrast to Shirou who stood behind the group. It wasn't that he didn't want to participate though, it was because he could already see and hear perfectly fine from where he stood.

"Bakugo, you finished tied at top of the practical exam, right?"

"… What?" Bakugo blurted out.

In that second, Shirou was certain he could see the eyes widening from the young teen even from the back. In honesty, Shirou could also see Iida widening his eyes in surprise at the notion of the rude teen being better than him.

"Tied… you say?" He muttered, definitely in disbelief.

"Yes," Aizawa answered, sending a lazy gaze at Shirou – no, that gaze was far from lazy. Shirou could definitely see the hidden sadistic smirk he held, "You tied at seventy-five points with the red-headed brat."

Since the only other redhead that he might have talked about was all the way to the west side of the group, that allowed the young teen – Bakugo was his name – to narrow down at him. In his eyes, Shirou could not deny that he saw his eyes narrowing like a man on a mission… or rather in Bakugo's case, a wild beast awaiting his chance to go on a rampage.

 _A rampage directed straight at him._

Considering that this teen, who Shirou had assumed won based on practical points alone, had reached a tie at the top spot alongside him… only meant that he had destroyed enough robots to earn that seventy-five points. Of course, Bakugo didn't know about the rescue point mechanic, so he would naturally assume that Shirou did the same.

 _Terrific. Thank you, Aizawa._

"Ignore him, brat. At least for now," He said, for once not referring to Shirou as the brat, "In junior high, what was your best result for the softball throw?"

Reluctantly, the seething teen turned away and answered with a rude glare of his own. Not that Aizawa actually cared. "Sixty-seven meters."

"Then, try doing it with your quirk."

Bakugo snorted, sending a threatening glance at the young Midoriya for a split second, but directing the full force right at Shirou instantly after. He stepped into the chalk-drawn circle.

"You can do whatever you want as long as you stay within the circle." Aizawa instructed, "Hurry up. Give it all you've got."

With another competitive and aggressive glare sent his way, Bakugo stretched his throwing arm and stared ahead. "Then, well…"

With movement fit for a professional baseball pitcher, he bent his body back and swung his entire body forward–

A wild _murderous_ look enveloped his visage.

"DIE!"

– and an explosion encompassed his being, blasting the surprisingly intact baseball high into the air, soaring above the low clouds and drifting in the sky only to impact down to the earth like a mini meteor.

"Know your own maximum first," Aizawa muttered loudly, taking a glance at his machine when it beeped. "That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero." He rose the machine, to reveal the total length.

 _705.2 meters_

"Seven hundred and five meters? Seriously?"

"This looks fun!"

"We can use our quirks as much as we want! As expected of the Hero course!"

Of course, none of that resonated with Shirou, instead all he was thinking were his parting words. Know your own maximum first, that is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero. Repeating it out loud and within his mind, Shirou could see that making sense no matter the situation.

However, he knew for a fact that his own maximum wouldn't be fully displayed in this quirk assessment test. After all, he didn't want to reveal the full capabilities of his reinforcement… And he had no idea how he was going to use swords he created to help him in most of these physical activities.

Sometimes he wished that he could create projectile launching weapons, he could use a bow maybe? It would honestly have to be a rather strong bow to achieve his maximum distance, possibly Archer's bow. His quirk was recently 'discovered' to be a weaponry creation quirk, meaning a bow and arrow would fall in that category right?

"'It looks fun,' huh?" Aizawa muttered, an odd look spreading across his eyes. Sheer dread followed for a few seconds, spreading to the students, cutting off all of their future words, and not to mention Shirou's own contemplation. "You have three years to become a hero… Will you have an attitude like that the whole time?"

The previously sealed and hidden sadistic smirk made its way onto his face, his tired eyes livening whatever prospect he had in his mind fully displaying itself to the entirety of the class. "All right. Whoever comes in last-place for all eight tests will be judged to have _no potential_ and will be punished with _expulsion._ "

… _What?_

Shirou narrowed his eyes at him. What was his game? What reasoning could he have to have pulled that out of nowhere? Was it because all of the students were goofing off and acting like it was going to be fun? Shirou did, in fact, know how hard the life of a Hero was going to be, but they had three years, it was more than enough time for such a mentality to develop among them.

There was no need for that punishment, so why give it in the first place?

Shirou glanced around, seeing more of the students hyping themselves up, but it was less for a fun time like before. Instead, they were hyping themselves to not fail, to not face the bottom of the barrel and to not allow their dreams to be crushed. In fact, from what Shirou could see, the Midoriya teen seemed to be having an inner panic, grasping at his hand in worry. It wasn't just Midoriya, Iida seemed to be gritting his teeth and steeling himself and even Jiro was fighting off the despair to grow on her face.

Jiro's fear and worry was warranted however, her quirk was related to the earphone cords extending from her earlobes. How in the world was her quirk supposed to help her here? They would honestly be hardly better than when she was allowed to use it.

Shirou was honestly sure he was going to pass if he used mild reinforcement for most of the tests, and for the ball throw he could use Archer's bow possibly or even a normal bow, but for the rest of the tests, Shirou wasn't so sure.

He should bet it all on his body outperforming the lowest of ranks. That, and even if he was last in most of the tests, if he was somewhat high in one of the other tests, then he should be fine right?

Shirou was going to offer words of comfort to his friends, but once again he was interrupted.

"We're free to do what we want about the circumstances of our students…" Aizawa declared, raising his hands and clearing away the hair that covered his face. Staring at it, Shirou can definitely see the sadistic glee he would draw from the following hours. "Welcome! To U.A.'s Hero course!"

 _Fine… I'll play your game Aizawa._

Shirou could only hope that no one else would fail.

That hope remained even as he saw Aizawa's gaze direct itself solely at the young Midoriya, who was clenching down his fist in worry.

* * *

 _The Beast._

That was the name that he was given by the dregs of society. It was a name that spoke worlds of the murders that occurred throughout the hallways– of how his methods had akin him to something far from human.

However, he knew better, for his name was Angra Mainyu, the personification of all evil. The one who had taken all darkness within himself as an unwilling burden. Despite that, however, he was classified as the weakest of heroic spirits. It was not his fault that he could not kill other servants, who were always on a plane of their own.

Luckily there were no other servants in this world, which means he wouldn't be killed in an instant. The original body he had assimilated provided enough mana for him to survive for a few weeks alongside the mana stolen from those he had butchered. However, upon usage of his noble phantasm, that mana had admittedly come to pass.

Angra Mainyu flexed his new fingers, having shed the old skin and donned the new flesh like it was a blanket.

 _Nomu, was it?_

Synthetic creatures created by the absolute boss of the human criminals he was working with.

 _Meh._

Apparently, they used his old body as a base for his new one, luckily they had turned off his pain receptors when editing his body, not that he would have cared about the pain if he was going to be honest.

While pitch black in color, Angra Mainyu's tattoos had spread out and taken form upon his new body. In a sense, he looked rather similar to before, except his face – or lack thereof – was replaced with a simple mask.

They had said that his face would form under the mask soon, but it would take a few days. That was fine, however, seeing as Angra Mainyu was admittedly going to lay low for the time being.

He really did want a face with a mouth to eat with, drinking through a tube was novel at first but now it was starting to get boring. On the bright side, the bastard from behind the monitor said that whatever face formed would best suit him. Whatever that meant.

"How are you acclimating to your new body? Beast?"

Angra Mainyu turned to the pitch black ectoplasmic being in a bartender suit, which was a surreal sight to anyone that wasn't a servant.

"Meh, don't really feel that much of a difference really. Then again I was insane when I was in my last body so I wouldn't know."

"I see…" Kurogiri muttered, "Please let us know if there are any irregularities. This is admittedly our first time encountering a being that can freely change bodies."

"Don't think too much about it," He waved off, "At least I'm not half dead."

"That would indeed be unfortunate."

 _Flippant and wile._

That was what Angra Mainyu's personality reformed to after regaining his past. Changing bodies he found out, was not really his main ability, or an ability that he was supposed to have. Heck, he didn't even know why he had it in the first place. He could make a guess on the fact that he was a shapeless entity when arriving in this world, so that would mean he needed to take a form maybe…

But then again, never really studied any kind of magecraft, so whatever explanation he could come up with would be from his ass and a load of bull shit.

Angra Mainyu gazed upon his tattoos once more. Upon remembering his past, his whole life suffering under the hands of humans who prayed for evil to be vanquished from themselves… Angra Mainyu could sigh in indifference.

Once upon a time, he was prideful and hateful on human beings… But now that he had his memories and sanity again, why should he care about being prideful? Why should he care about the wounds and torture he had suffered under? He doesn't actually need to be like that.

So that lead to his decision to laugh off any and all hardships, which was a good decision.

He was the collection of humanity's evils! Even something as little as a severed arm wouldn't be something to worry about, especially with this new body. Minor regeneration and what not. Granted, he wasn't that tall, only about the size of an average human, but he did have a new fun toy that he could play with…

What _was_ that toy he was going to play with?

 _A Quirk._

He was only given one to play around with as opposed to the mindless ilk that shared his body type, but he honestly couldn't wait to have fun with them! After being trapped in a grail for centuries and losing himself to temporary amnesia, Angra Mainyu would relish on any piece of enjoyment he could get!

"Yo, Kurogiri!" Angra Mainyu called from his spot in the bar, "Got anything for me to do? It's kinda boring here!"

The black misty bartender sighed in some kind of defeat, "Angra Mainyu… I thought we had discussed this. It is best that we wait until Shigaraki has finalized his plans for U.A."

"I know that!" Angra Mainyu barked back, but there was barely any actual bite to it. He had no reason to properly antagonize the bartender, "But seriously, I need to do something with this body or I'm going to get bored."

"How tragic…"

"Hey! I can see you rolling your ectoplasmic eyes!" Angra Mainyu complained. a slight growl coming from his throat. "Come on, at least let me use the television. I haven't checked through all the channels yet."

"We haven't paid for the signal this month."

"Why is a criminal syndicate paying for cable!?"

 _A creak and a ring._

The door leading into the bar they sat in opened, ringing the bell and dragging Angra Mainyu away from the incoming rant. Angra turned to face the interrupting piece of crap, but held his tongue and smiled.

"It's about time you got back, Leader."

"Shut up, Angra Mainyu," Shigaraki retorted, dragging himself into the bar and seating himself in front of the bartender. "Your name is too long, it's annoying to say, and has too many characters. Can't you just change your name to Angra?"

"Rude little guy aren't you?" Angra Mainyu muttered, ignoring the last words Shigaraki had said. "Done with the plans then?"

Shigaraki nodded drearily. "Yeah, we'll begin tomorrow,"

"Tomorrow?" Angra Mainyu muttered in slight confusion. "Why the heck not today?"

"We need a distraction, but luckily the press have all basically scheduled to interview U.A. students for tomorrow to interview about _All Might_ as a _teacher_ ," He said with venom in his tone. "That will be our window."

Angra Mainyu frowned but nodded in silent defeat when he sensed the irritation. Whatever beef the dude with a hand fetish had against this world's embodiment of justice wasn't his problem. "Alright fine… but what do you expect me to do today? I need to get used to this body man!"

Which was true, it had been only a few days since they had stabilized a body fit for him to possess, so he barely had any time spent training in the new body.

Shigaraki looked at Kurogiri. Whatever was being exchanged between their gaze, Angra Mainyu didn't know. Reluctantly, Kurogiri put down the glass he was rubbing clean, and nodded.

"Fine, I wanted to spend the day just tending to the bar but I suppose I don't have a choice." Kurogiri mildly complained, "There's a clearing in a forest I can take you to, Angra Mainyu. You may go wild there as much as you wish without dragging curious bystanders. It would be a nuisance to get rid of them quietly."

Angra Mainyu allowed the grin on his face to grow, a savage twitch going down his spine. "I knew I liked you two for some reason!"

"Just be prepared for tomorrow," Kurogiri berated with a sigh as he opened the portal.

Angra Mainyu ignored him however as he leaped into the portal, however, there was a single thing on his mind. A singular thought that he had no reason to refute.

 _He was going to have fun tomorrow!_

* * *

As Shirou watched Iida Tenya line up for the first test alongside a frog-like girl, Shirou could only sigh in silent contempt. He still could not wrap his head around what Aizawa was planning. Minutes prior, a few of his classmates had complained about the punishment with vigor, but the man's singular reason was somewhat justified.

" _Natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish villains. Calamities whose time or place can't be predicted. Japan is covered in unfairness. Heroes are the ones who reverse the situations." Aizawa stated indifferently, "If you with your friends at Mickey D's after school, too bad. For the next three years, U.A. will do all it can to give you one hardship after another…"_

" _Go Beyond. Plus Ultra." He taunted, beckoning students to take a step further with his finger, a sickeningly sadistic smirk once more taking shape. It was made all the more daunting once they realized he had used the schools own motto as justification for this madness. "Overcome it with all you've got."_

Shirou sighed.

 _Was Aizawa always this… sadistic?_

Even after that initial event had passed, Shirou still could not believe Aizawa would willingly pull something like this. In his own words, _it was not rational_. Not everyone can be expected to be a hero right off the bat, to cull potential heroes before you train them first is the height of irrationality.

So why? Why was Aizawa enforcing such a punishment?

His worry was even more granted when Shirou realized that Aizawa was gazing more at both himself and Midoriya. Why the nervous teen, Shirou didn't know. Hopefully, he would learn sometime in the future.

"On your mark…" The little robot voice echoed "Get set…"

 _BANG_

The sound of a false gun barrel boomed, signaling them to start. As soon as they did, Iida had bolted from his starting position at a speed that nearly rivaled a low ranked servant. It shouldn't have really surprised him, seeing as this world is rife with superhuman feats, but even then Shirou knew that if Iida trained to his limit, then he could prove to be a brilliant hero.

3.04 seconds, that was Iida's score. The frog girl had gotten 5.58 seconds.

Considering that this was a fifty-meter dash, those scores were beyond respectable. Fifty meters between a hero and a civilian could mean life or death. Knowing that at least a few of his classmates could at least make that distance in a rather short time… it was a warming thought.

This only enforced the idea in his mind that all of the students here would become great heroes, Shirou knew that – even from a single glance at all of his classmates. The invisible anomaly had the physical abilities of a normal human, yet will excel in all stealth based operations… which made it all the more confusing that Aizawa would expel the lowest student.

Shirou sighed and shook his head. If he wanted to pass this so-called 'test' that Aizawa made, then he would have to focus. He would do just enough to pass, and this dash would serve as a somewhat perfect segway into what he planned next.

Everyone was going to pass, he would guarantee it.

* * *

Aizawa did not let his sadistic smirk fade from his face. He had been through a literal mountain of paperwork from all the examinees yesterday, which had only been completed and compiled today because of a blasted broken printer.

Admittedly, he was happy to take out his stress on his students, which was legal because the government had decided that professional heroes knew what was best for their students. So all of their actions were mostly overlooked, so long as the results they produce were what they wanted. This was also partly the reason that U.A. had been given a substantial amount of monetary benefit. They got what they invested for, so they invest more for more. It was as simple as that.

That, and he still felt a migraine from the drinking he did a week ago so he was crankier than usual.

What wasn't so simple, however, was the fact that Yu's brat walked onto the path, ready to take his turn for the fifty-meter dash. Aizawa wasn't sure whether he enjoyed the look that took shape in his eyes.

 _What was that brat planning?_

Knowing the brat, he might as well have been planning something altruistic–

Aizawa narrowed his eyes as Shirou completed the course… Completing it and of itself was not something suspicious. What was suspicious, however, was the time that the brat had when completing the course.

 _8 seconds._

Eight damned seconds.

Basically a whole second longer than the nervous wreck Midoriya had. He knew that the brat was far more fit than what he had shown here, after all, he stood toe to toe with the beast. In fact, he should have done far better…

Aizawa widened his eyes in realization before narrowing down like a hawk. The current test was meant to push others to their limits using the fear of expulsion. This was not acceptable.

"Emiya Shirou," He called sternly, drawing curious eyes towards him. This was good, they needed to hear this as well. "Do you think this is a joke? Repeat the fifty-meter dash at your best or else I will personally expel you right here, right now."

A sea of murmuring whispers rose from the crowd of children, most of them confused. However, Aizawa had keen eyes – despite their always tired and red appearance that is – and noticed that the Todoroki boy, Bakugo, Iida, and Midoriya instantly knew what was wrong.

They were some of the tactically smartest students in his class, he would have been disappointed if they didn't notice.

"Don't hold back again." Aizawa finalized, sending a cold stare his direction.

To his credit, he did not back down, but narrowed his eyes as he walked back to the start, and restarted his fifty-meter dash. The false blast of a gun echoed…

… and then the brat _ran_.

When Aizawa meant ran, he literally meant that the brat dug his feet into the ground and pushed himself forward like a battering ram. If he had a person in front of him, he would have sent him tumbling into the ground without losing much momentum.

Unique imagery aside, the moment Shirou passed the finish line, the eyes of his students slowly widened, a direct inverse to the frown growing on his own.

 _5.68 seconds._

A far cry from eight seconds, all achieved without a speed quirk, which just screamed the brat's natural athleticism.

Aizawa snorted and faced the rest of the class. "While I'm sure Emiya's heart was in the right place… if I catch any of you willingly putting yourself at the bottom of the barrel to help out your fellow classmates, the same punishment applies. You will be expelled." He hardened his gaze particularly on the young Midoriya, whose eyes were shaking like maracas.

"You will either pass these tests through your own power... or fail them through your own weakness. The choice is yours, don't let others do that for you." He flicked his hand to momentarily turn off the recording machine.

"You all may be heroes-in-training, but that doesn't mean that you're supposed to rely on others to save you when you can't even save yourselves."

Silent stares, teeth gritting, sweat dripping from their brows, mostly from those students who no doubt were planning something similar. The class that had been somewhat taking things slow and serious, were now all solely focused on the reality of the situation. Those who weren't as tense were the wild Bakugo brat – who was giving both Midoriya and the Emiya brat a not so subtle glare – and Todoroki, who merely contemplated in silence.

Things in this class won't be the same as the entrance exam. Heroic acts won't make up for their faults here. This was a test for one's own power. If they can't succeed here and now, then when will they? It was better they left this school and lived in sadness, rather than sticking around and dying in failure, especially true on that Midoriya kid.

It was more rational that way.

Aizawa sighed as he took slow yet heavy steps towards the gymnasium, "That's everyone right? Move to the gymnasium for the grip strength test."

Aizawa ignored the slight and subtle glare that the brat had sent his way.

 _Damn altruistic brat._

* * *

Shirou sighed in frustration at the situation. If he had just been a little more discreet, he would have managed to help everyone pass. Now, if he wanted to pass the test Aizawa gave, he would have had to give a reasonable effort. Otherwise, Aizawa would perceive his actions as purposely failing once more.

He could not fail here, not after all he has done to prepare, but he still wanted to help them out. His classmates no doubt trained their whole life to become Heroes, denying them their dreams and ideals was not what he wanted for them – not what he wanted for anyone.

He could have gotten a higher overall score if he had used reinforcement, but he made sure that all unfair advantages he had against all his classmates would not be used.

It was the least he could have done after the colossal failure that was his first attempt at 'helping'. After the first test, Jiro and Sato had mentioned that they appreciated the thought, but needed to do the exam themselves with their own power, _like Aizawa said_.

Afterwards, they all ended up going separate ways in order to focus more on their possible scores.

Shirou couldn't really agree. They all proved themselves from the practical exam a week ago, what purpose was there to proving themselves once more? They were just teens who should be enjoying their adolescence to their fullest. They were supposed to be heroes, but the path to become a hero shouldn't be like this…

… Although, it is still a better alternative to the path _he_ had walked.

With a sigh, Shirou recounted his scores. In regards to all the following tests he had, the first to mention was the standing long jump. He hadn't leaped very far without his reinforcement. There was a similar result during the repeated side steps, which he had done admirably well. During the grip strength test, he had scored around sixty kilograms of grip force.

While all of these scores hadn't made much of a splash – especially considering that the Bakugo teen had reached a far better overall score than the majority of the class – it was still enough that it made most of the class' scores shown to be arbitrary…

In an inverse perspective to Bakugo's scores, Midoriya had consistently done the opposite. So far he was sitting at the bottom of the totem pole. Unable to so much exceed any of Shirou's score, which Shirou found surprising, especially with the build that he had hidden under his uniform. He didn't even exceed any of Jiro's scores, who Shirou was certain only got higher than Midoriya in the fifty meter dash by a few seconds.

The green mop of a teen had more muscle in his abs than most of their fellow classmates, possibly more so than even the wild Bakugo. Yet in spite of this, the nervous teen hadn't even reached Shirou's own score. Was something holding him back? Was there something that would affect his performance to such a degree? Perhaps self doubt?

Shirou didn't know for now, but perhaps in the future, he could learn.

"That's amazing! She got Infinity!"

Shirou was drawn from his thoughts as the rest of the class cheered in awe at the bubbly girls throw.

Everyone knew that reaching infinity was an absurd number, but Shirou supposed that with her quirk it would be trivial to do so. She could deny the effects of gravity on an object, which in and of itself didn't fully make much sense. If an objects gravity was denied, then that object would most likely fly off into space from the centrifugal force of the earth. The fact that the objects she touches didn't fly away was a miracle. Perhaps her quirk also cancels momentum in some form?

"Emiya, you're up." Aizawa called, looking at his check board offhandedly. Most likely not even bothering to go by a specific order.

Shirou nodded and stepped into the chalk-drawn ring, grabbing the spare replacement baseball from the floor that they had prepared. Which was a good decision considering the fact that most of the equipment they were using to test their limits often sometimes broke. During the grip test, the multi-armed boy had nearly destroyed his device.

He ignored the glares that were sent his way from the Bakugo teen, unwilling to even try to provoke him further. It failed of course, seeing as his ignorance of said glares only further intensifying them.

"Remember brat," Aizawa said. "Don't hold back, or else."

A soft sigh of both silent acceptance and resolution escaped Shirou, but there was no mistaking the irritation in the following frown.

"Fine."

Shirou held his arm out to his side and concentrated, calling upon his prana and visualizing a weapon to his will. Not just any weapon, he narrowed it down to a bow.

It was a nameless Japanese bow, exceptionally tall at the top and made of bamboo. It wasn't the best of the bows he had in his mind, but he could definitely make the current task work with the idea he had in mind.

Next up, Shirou visualized an arrow, however, a major difference was in place. The arrow in question was made entirely of steel, making it appear more like an arrow sized nail than an actual arrow.

A subtle flash of magical light and the bow appeared on his left palm, the arrow also being held within the same hand. Much like how archers from centuries ago had held their arrows, as opposed to using quivers during battle.

From his vision, Aizawa rose an eyebrow in intrigue. Shirou wouldn't really know why, the man had learned that his quirk could create different weaponry, a bow and arrow was well within his 'quirks' jurisdiction. From the crowd however, he could see but a single person widen her eyes in minor surprise.

Perhaps it was the oddity of the bow and arrow use? He could understand that a Japanese purist may find some sort of offence from the fact that he used a non-bamboo arrow to shoot with, but he imagined that such sentiment would die off with the development of quirks within the society.

Shirou didn't know why, but chose to ignore that for the time being. His target was non-existent, but he supposed he could aim for the seven hundred mark.

Shirou took the arrow in his left hand, and the ball in his right… and stabbed the ball with the arrow.

The young magus could see Aizawa groan at the blatant vandalism, but could do nothing about it. After all wasn't it he that said that they were allowed to do _anything_ within the circle?

With a sigh, Shirou nocked the bastardization of an arrow onto his bow. Mentally clearing his mind and steeling his resolve. The angry glares had faded into the background, the whispering and murmuring of the crowd died out in obscurity, and Aizawa's own piercing gaze became non-existent.

Shirou remembered all the steps that Kyuudou had. He never was able to forget them after all.

 _Ashibumi_ , Shirou stood to ensure his left side of his body faced his target, legs spread apart, feet shaped out like a 'v' for stability. He reinforced his body slightly.

 _Dozukuri_ , creating a parallel line using his shoulders and waist, ensuring that the arrow would not directly harm him. He allowed his prana to flow serenely within him.

 _Yugamae_ , gripping the bow string with his right hand, the shaft of the bow with his left hand, and gazing at the seven hundred line as his target.

 _Uchiokoshi_ , raising the bow overhead along with the arrow in place. Shirou began reinforcing the bow and arrow that he held to their maximum potential.

 _Hikiwake_ , bringing down the bow while spreading his arms, allowing him to hold the bow furthest away and draw the string simultaneously whilst his other hand remained. The bow was reinforced to ensure that it could accomplish the task.

 _Kai_ , drawing the string to it's maximum potential with his right hand, maximizing the power, length, and force of the draw. The arrow was reinforced so that it would fly straight and true.

 _Hanare_ , let his right fingers flicker back, releasing the shot. The arrow left the chalk-drawn circle and soared into the air, surprising many in the crowd as the arrow did not spin in circles around the main weight of the ball.

 _Zanshin_ , the arrow struck the seven hundred mark line, signaling that Shirou could lower both his arms in mild relaxation.

The ball end of the arrow itself had not bounced. It was incapable of doing so actually, the arrow having pushed through the baseball upon impact with the ground, skewering it solidly through the chalk-drawn line.

The arrow had been front heavy, extremely so, but the steel of the rest of the arrow had been able to make up for the weight. He had still needed to make the necessary calculations during his draw so that the arrow would remain on his target path. In addition, he had lowered the butt of the arrow so that it shot at a slight angle in order to keep the momentum.

Yet again he had performed Kyuudou to perfection, another shot that had not missed. Mitsuzuri would have been proud and no doubt Sakura would have congratulated him…

Shirou sighed, the bow alongside the arrow in the distance broke into motes of light, having completed it's job. Shirou turned to face Aizawa, ready to return and contemplate about the other physical tests, but the slightly widened eyes he held asked many questions.

"… You know how to perform Kyuudou." Aizawa stated, voicing out one of the questions he had in the form of a statement.

Shirou nodded at this and simply walked away into the crowd, ignoring the eyes that roamed over him in congratulations. He had always obtained praise from his shots, not once did he miss them after all.

That was exactly why he had left.

He supposed he had missed one shot, but Shirou would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't purposely aim away from the bullseye.

Shirou allowed his eyes to roam back to the aggressive Bakugo, who had already been staring at him. The magus could honestly feel the agitation and fury that irradiated from the teen. If Shirou had surpassed his score then he was sure that his glare would have been further intensified.

It was lucky that Shirou decided to settle on the seven hundred mark.

Shirou sighed, today was not going his way.

* * *

Aizawa could only keep silent, if not for his bandages covering his mouth, he was certain that the students would have seen it.

His slightly open maw.

The brat Shirou, had shot an oddly weighed arrow with a bow he created using his own quirk, directly and exactly at the seven hundred meter border, ignoring some law of physics probably. There was not decimal number off, not even the machine in his hands – when set to the maximum measurable values – could find a single decimal point off. It was a exactly at the seven hundred mark, _exactly_.

Aizawa could chalk it up to luck, hell his sleep deprived mind yearned to do so, and yet he could not do that. He could not truly measure the brat's overall accuracy and precision without having him fire a few more test shots.

The scary thing was that Aizawa was sure that the brat could have hit even further.

The brat wore confidence on his sleeve when he took the shot, with the grace and skill that even the most prominent of Japanese Kyuudou practitioners would have been in awe at– Not that there were many Kyuudou practitioners still existing during the era of Heroes and Quirks.

That drew another question, in addition to his sword play, how in the world did that brat learn Kyuudou? It wasn't something that most practitioners would teach, especially to a kid with a weapon creation quirk, which had been thought to be a sword creation quirk a week ago.

Kyuudou was a practice that exemplifies and harmonizes ceremonial shooting. If his teacher had learned that the kid wanted to be a hero, then those bigots that remained by themselves in their dojo's like recluses would have outright denied him the permission to learn…

 _Unless it wasn't a Kyuudou practitioner that taught him._

It was a vague memory, but Aizawa did remember that the brat mentioned a teacher who wanted him to learn by himself. A bad teacher in Aizawa's opinion, but perhaps it was this teacher that showed and taught Shirou Kyuudou? To his knowledge, there was no Kyuudou practitioner alive that also knew how to use a variety of swords. Such a weapon master would have been known throughout Japan.

Such a weapon master must still be in contact with the brat.

 _This brat just keeps getting even more confusing._

"Yaoyorozu Momo, you're up." Aizawa called through his discreet stupor. The girl nodded and made her way to the circle, a slightly odd expression on her face.

Aizawa supposed that it was warranted. She had the quirk that allowed her to create any non-organic object there is. Someone with a quirk extremely similar to hers had performed an amazing feat. It was not surprising that she would feel intimidated.

She had gotten in his class with a recommendation alongside the Todoroki kid. Perhaps she would seek out the brat later to compare and contrast how they use their quirks? Would be a smart move seeing their similarities.

 _BANG_

The echo of an explosion drove Aizawa from his thoughts as he stared at Yaoyorozu's creation.

 _It was a bazooka._

She had loaded the baseball into the bazooka and shot it out.

A vastly more powerful approach as opposed to the method that the brat had used despite the similarities in quirk, yet he could not fault the results. Aizawa took a glance at the numbered result on his tracker.

 _703.7 meters._

Admirable distance, not quite reaching Bakugo's score but close enough. They both used explosive power to achieve their goal after all, it was not surprising that the explosion caused by the explosive brat would have reached farther.

It would appear that the young woman was not pleased with her score somewhat, and Aizawa could see why yet again. If Shirou had made that distance with just a bow and arrow, then why couldn't she have made it further with a vastly superior ranged weapon?

Sadly, Aizawa did not have a quirk that was similar to theirs, so he could not answer that question. The subtle glances that they sent each other showed the minor confusion they each had.

"Midoriya, you're up."

* * *

Shirou once more stood near the front of the group, eyeing the return of the girl with a quirk similar yet far more diverse than his own magecraft. He could only craft swords and weaponry, yet she had created a fire arm.

Shirou would not be able to create a fire arm, his element remained Sword for a reason. He was a sword to be wielded for a righteous ideal, fire arms often don't fall under similar terminologies. However she did drag it out of her skin, perhaps it was not a proper creation quirk and more on the lines of a pocket dimension? No, that theory was out the window. Aizawa was throwing both him and her looks most likely due to the similarities.

Shirou did wonder how long the creation she left behind on the field would last though.

The young magus sighed and turned his attention to Midoriya, stood in the chalk circle and gripping the ball with a conflicted expression on his face.

 _What was wrong?_

"It doesn't look good for Midoriya if he continues like this." Iida voiced out, reflecting the thoughts that Shirou had about the teen.

"Ah? Of course not," Bakugo mused, drawing a small bit of attention, pointing his finger at their nervous classmate. "He's a Quirkless small fry, you know?"

 _Quirkless?_

This seemed to shock Iida, who stared in disbelief at the claim. "Quirkless?! Are you not aware of what he did in the entrance exam?"

"Ah?" Bakugou in turn showed a confused expression.

Was that why the young teen was worried? He had no quirk? But how did he pass the entrance exam if he didn't have one? Before Shirou could think up an answer, the boy drew his arm back and–

– _Shirou's circuits flared as he felt a presence fly over him. It was righteous, it was cunning, it was–_

–threw the ball weakly, letting it lazily fly into the air only to bounce back on to the floor.

 _What was that?_

There was a presence that he had felt or rather sensed, something different to all that he had felt before… No, it wasn't that different, it was vaguely similar. Similar to what, Shirou didn't know. All he knew was that his nose itched for but a moment.

There was a familiar scent there.

Shirou knew that his nose worked similar to something like a bloodhound, allowing him to pick up traces of residual prana in the air… But what he was sensing wasn't something that could be called prana. There was a vague resemblance to it… but not overly so, in fact, they were different enough for Shirou to say it wasn't prana at all.

So then what was it? What triggered this sense of familiarity? Why did the smell come from Midoriya? It was almost as if Shirou smelled something like it before…

"I erased your quirk."

Due to Shirou's proximity, he managed to over hear the muffled voice that Aizawa had. He was far from the crowd so it was a miracle that Shirou actually heard it. Flowing some prana into his ears, he reinforced them to hear what he was saying.

"That entrance exam was definitely not rational enough…" He muttered, bandages flying over his body as if possessed. While Shirou could not see the gaze that he held from here, he was sure that Aizawa was glaring his heart out based on the withering complexion that the teen had, "… Even a kid like you was accepted."

"You erased my quirk–?" The young teen widened his eyes and drew himself back, narrowing his eyes on something on Aizawa's person as if he had come to a realization. "Those goggles… I see! You can erase other people's quirks with your quirk just by looking at them… The Erasure Hero, Eraser Head!"

… _Erase quirks?_

"Eraser? I don't know him."

"I've heard of him… He's an underground hero."

Midoriya had shouted that last bit out, so the majority of their class had learned about their homeroom teacher's identity. Despite the murmuring however, Shirou could only focus on a fact that he had forgotten.

Whenever Shirou had used his magecraft, _not once_ was Aizawa there to try 'erase' his 'quirk'.

Now that they were in the same class… the chances that Aizawa would use that quirk on him, only to discover that his quirk wasn't erased, was far above the reasonable estimate. In fact, he wouldn't even know when Aizawa was using his quirk if he wore those goggles.

Shirou had to remain eternally vigilant in Aizawa's classes, there was no doubt about that. If he failed that, then there was a chance that his magecraft would be revealed to the world. It was not a chance he wanted to take.

"From what I can tell, you can't control your quirk, can you?" Aizawa asked, drawing Shirou from thoughts once more. It appeared that the teacher had hit his mark as evident from the step back that the teen had taken. Even from here Shirou could hear the jittering of his bones. "Do you intend to become incapacitated again and have someone save you?"

"T-That's not my intention–" He was cut off when the bandages lashed forward and dragged Midoriya closer to him. How did that happen? Wasn't his quirk erasing quirks and not… whatever that bandage thing was?

Aizawa leveled a glare with his hair flying wildly above him, most likely a side effect to his quirk perhaps? Maybe the bandage thing was also a side effect? "Whatever your intention, I'm saying that is what those around you will be forced to do."

The young teen widened his eyes.

"In the past, there was an oppressively passionate hero who saved over a thousand people himself and created a legend…" Aizawa proclaimed, "Even if you have the same reckless valor, you'll just be docked and turned into a useless doll after saving one person."

 _Created a legend?_

Shirou could certainly define which hero of today that created a legend. In fact, Shirou would go as far to say that that specific hero would have resided in the throne of heroes if he had existed in Shirou's world–

"Midoriya Izuku. With your power, you _can't_ become a hero."

As the deafening silence filled the practice field, Shirou saw the despair and confusion that wrought across the nervous Midoriya's face…

Emotions of most of the students across the crowd steeled in response. Not wanting to incur his wrath…

Shirou had but a single thought in response, however, that thought did not differ from what he had been thinking all day

 _Damn it… What in the world are you trying to do, Aizawa?_

* * *

 **A/N: Been a while, posted this on mid February like I said last time. Longer chapter which is nice now (I want this to be the common length of each chapter)**

 **I will however apologize, I wont be posting this month again because I'm much too busy with real life as of now. It will take a while to find time to write more later and might as well spare you the suspense. I should be able to post early or mid March. School is important and you shouldn't neglect studies (Not like me).**

 **Bright side of things now, Fate Extra Last Encore was released and I have no idea what is going on with MC Hakuno but I freaking love it! The FGO events have been hitting me like a truck (Setsuban/Valentines), both of which required me to pull all nighters (still not done with valentine event, only 54,000,000 chocos right now), and the latest news of a KnK collab rerun event. I can finally make my Assassin Shiki NP 5 instead of the forever NP 4 she has now.**

 **The new villain revealed in the Manga of BNHA is a riot, gonna love writing about him (in like two or three years based on how fast this fic is going).**

 **I guess I could leave an announcement here, its a wise idea to not continuously write a single story so a side project would be a grand idea. Something like two chapters of this story and then a chapter of the side project. It would help make sure that I'm not losing interest. Hey, it worked for some others authors so why not me? You can skip the A/N below if you're not interested.**

 **I'll be setting up a poll (Now that I learned how and not like before) in order to determine which story Idea interests the most of you. While the ideas are mostly Fate. You can vote for two of them in the poll.**

 **Here they are:**

 **Power Rangers: Kaleido Force!  
Fate x Power Rangers  
-Zelretch is known to love magical school girls and that's probably why Prisma Illya exists. The Kaleidoscope is a wonderful piece of work, so technically anything is true, why not a world where five power rangers (All from the main cast) fight to defeat heroic spirits called from a corrupted grail (controlled by Angra Mainyu). The premise would be Angra summoning heroic spirits until he has seven souls trapped inside the grail to utilize, but the protagonists will be working to send the heroic spirits back to the throne instead of the grail. It would be a pretty weird Alternate Universe (and fun to write somewhat). Main problem is Zords (the best part of Power Rangers) I have no idea how to describe them or how to justify huge transforming Mecha fights.**

 **An Accelerated Sword  
Fate X Accel World  
-Since Accel World is set in the future, I had the grand idea of reincarnating Shirou into that future. He would first died stopping a war and resulting in a somewhat steady peace, which is what I believe the political state of Accel World to be in. Shirou would be the reincarnated over protective brother of Haruyuki Arita, which should change some cannon events. The story would diverge into an AU with Shirou starting his own Legion. Unfortunately, I don't have a clear plan for how, but I could make one.**

 **Bladed Horizon  
Fate x Log Horizon  
-Illya's last wish was to play a game with Sakura, Rin, and Shirou before she died. So they decided to play Elder Tale. Illya has a head start due to all of the others having some jobs to keep up with, but eventually, they make their characters. They will be sent to Log Horizon's world, with no idea how in the world they got there. Illya would be a level 40 or something with the others being level 1. I have the races and characters for them planned but the plot? It would end up becoming an AU, where Origins and stuff are thrown into play. They'd be guaranteed to become apart of the Round Table at some later date though, don't know when though.**

 **Fate / Zero: War of Kings  
Fate / Stay Night: Grand War  
Fate Zero x Anime Xovers  
-Standard war that The Infamous Man popularized. I have a somewhat vague idea of the plot up til the ending and that's probably good enough. I have the proper idea for the fourth grail war, but the fifth grail war is still missing two Riders (Watching a few Mecha shows to use some) and an Archer. The requirements I have for the chosen characters were: First, they are not TOO OVERPOWERED, which was what some fics did wrong. Some used Captain Yamamoto from bleace (Fucking overkill), and even The Infamous Man used Simon (His mech is bigger than galaxies damnit). Second, the series itself has to have ended in my eyes, meaning characters like Luffy or Midoriya wont count seeing as their series is still on going, but Might Guy and Kenpachi count seeing as their respective main series ended (I dont acknowledge Boruto). This can be circumvented however by the Third, they have to have died in their respective series. Jiraiya counts, so does Kayaba Akihiko. Basically, this would become a clusterfuck of a war (as usual with this type of fic)**

 **Beacon Duel Academy  
RWBY x Yu-Gi-Oh  
-Basically, an AU where there are no Grimm, its a world with dueling as a main profession. Jaune would be the protagonist using a no-extra-deck custom deck while everyone else in the world uses decks that focus on Pendulums, Xyzs, Synchros, or Fusions. No link summoning because I'm honestly confused about it and not really willing to learn about it. I have Decks planned for most of the team RWBY and JNPR but not really for the rest. I have the general idea for the Arcs going onward, there wont be duels every chapter (That would get stale really quickly), and it would focus more on the somewhat realistic realities of being a duelist. That and saving the world with a children's card game, cant forget about that.**

 **Those are generally the stories that I've been daydreaming for several months. I'm confident I can write one of them properly alongside My Ideal Academia, but I don't have the time to flesh out the idea like I did with this story. So separating the unwanted from the wanted seems like a nice idea. You can choose up to two of them if you wish to.**

 **Thanks for reading through that. Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Minor grammatical fixes, and also the poll is done. Bladed Horizon was picked.**


	14. Chapter 13 - A Sword from the Future

**Announcement at the bottom of the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

 **Beta: L33t Horo  
**

* * *

The silence that enveloped the class was suffocating. Shirou could not help but narrow his own gaze at the teacher, whose bandages had let Midoriya drop to his feet and wrap themselves back around him.

A teacher in the hero course that denies one of its students that he can become a hero? That was one of the biggest denials one could have.

"I've returned your quirk, you have two turns for the ball throw." He said, turning and walked back to his original stationary zone, "Hurry up and get it over with."

As the boy walked back to the circle, all Shirou could do was focus once more on Aizawa.

 _Why? What was the purpose?_

First, the unreasonable punishment of expulsion and second was the denial of a student's ambition. Just what was going in their teacher's head? What was Aizawa's goal?

He couldn't just go and interrogate Aizawa. He was just a student of the school, not someone of equal standing. Perhaps after the assessment test, he could try to drive out an answer, however, that might be a bad idea, seeing as how irritated Aizawa was at his earlier actions.

If he couldn't act, then all he could do was think. Shirou tuned out everything, even the discussion that his classmates had around him in favor of the muttering teen.

He was nervous, he appeared close to retching, but above all he was afraid… and yet– why was it that Shirou could not help but feel that the teen was not going to break?

Midoriya took a step back with a determined expression, far more so than when he had initially thrown the baseball, reared his arm and began to throw. Before, Shirou had missed it, but now he heightened his focus, reinforcing his nose slightly.

He smelled it, that familiar scent once more, and It came from Midoriya.

 _Why would it–_

 _WHHOOOOSSHH!_

All previous thoughts were blown out of the water, a gale vaguely reminding Shirou of a jet engine, as strong as one of Berserker's claps echoed across the field as the baseball flew to the sky, breaking past the low hanging clouds before landing somewhere after the seven hundred mark.

 _What in the world was that?!_

It wasn't just he who was shocked, Shirou could feel the shock radiating from his fellow classmates. He wouldn't blame them to be honest, he too was surprised. He didn't expect the boy who had been lagging behind in almost all of the training exercises to pull off such a feat.

Strength that rivaled Berserker, dare he say perhaps surpass Berserker. Shirou wasn't sure even he could take a punch with that kind of power.

Shirou let his now curious eyes to drift to Izuku, his arms still outstretched from throwing. However Shirou had a keen eyesight alongside his other senses, so it was no surprise when Shirou saw Midoriya's broken finger.

It may triumph against Berserker in strength, but there was none of the godlike endurance that the mad enhanced servant had whatsoever. In fact, based on the cracked finger, perhaps it was from overstraining the muscle fibers within his body.

A quirk that allows immense strength at the cost of a limb. No wonder the teen was always nervous. With a quirk like that, he had the potential to do more harm than good, especially since the overall harm applied more to himself than to others.

"Aizawa-sensei…" With a slightly triumphant smile on Midoriya's face, he faced Aizawa gripping down on his fist, blatantly ignoring the searing pain he no doubt felt. It spoke of endurance and determination. "… I can still move!"

The shit eating grin that Aizawa wore spoke volumes of what he felt, and Shirou was not as confused as to why now.

Before, he had been confused over why he wanted to deny a student their chance at graduating when they had properly been accepted into the school. Now Shirou saw what Aizawa had wanted.

Aizawa wanted Midoriya, solely Midoriya, to prove his own worth.

Midoriya's situation was different from everyone else. While Shirou himself had a 'quirk' that would be considered lethal and dangerous, it could be trained and used non-lethally as well.

Midoriya's quirk was almost self-destructive in nature, almost as if he had never trained in its use whatsoever. Add in the super destructive power his quirk no doubt possessed, he would be a danger to not just himself but all of those around him – be they villains or civilians.

Aizawa wanted him to prove that he can control his power, and with the little display that Midoriya gave out, most of the doubts on Aizawa's mind must have faded.

"He got over seven hundred meters?!"

"Finally a Hero-like record!"

"His finger is swollen!" Fortunately, Shirou was near Iida when he shouted, so he was able to hear the following murmurs, "… There was the entrance exam too. He has a strange quirk…"

"Deku…"

 _Killing intent?!_

Why? This was a school, somewhere safe for students to learn? Who in their right mind would–

Shirou's limbs tensed. He quickly turned to face the rude blond teen, whose own eyes were wild with both disbelief, shock, and anger. There was no mistaking the explosions wildly occurring atop his palms, add in with the currently developing rage and anger practically flowing off the teen…

This did not look good.

Shirou quickly acted and moved in front of Bakugo, arms spread ever so slightly wide, "Whatever you're thinking, remember that you enrolled here to be a Hero." Shirou stated.

While Shirou's sudden arrival in front of the teen slightly brought him out of his reverie, instead his glare and anger was directed straight at the young magus,

"Shut up! Don't tell me what to do!"

"E-Emiya, I'm not sure that's a great idea," Jiro loudly whispered to his side. Sato was nearby too, nervously sending glances between both Shirou and Bakugo, however, he was standing prepared to stop a confrontation.

"I'm not telling, Bakugo-san. I'm just suggesting." Shirou tried to reason, not eager for conflict this early in the school year. "If you do this, then it'll be harder for you to become a Professional Hero. Calm yourself."

His reasoning was lost as Bakugo was too busy giving him a death glare, the miniature explosions on his palms all the while increasing in intensity. Shirou inwardly began to call upon his prana to trace Bakuya to defend, just in case the teen attacks.

With a growl, Bakugo stepped forward as Shirou began to call on his swords–

"What are you two brats doing?"

–only to be wrapped in bandages that sealed his movement. A look sent to Aizawa and Shirou could see the signature glowing red eyes of the teacher.

Bakugo struggled and grit his teeth in confusion at the sturdiness of the cloth, "What in the–! Why are these bandages so hard…!?"

"They're weapons for capture made of carbon-fiber woven together with metal wire made of special alloy," Aizawa claimed, causing Shirou to secretly grasp the bandages, finding that he could probably trace it to a lesser degree, which was surprising.

"Jeez… Don't keep making me use my Quirk over and over…" Aizawa's eye twitched, "I have dry-eye!"

Somehow, Shirou thought he was missing on some kind of unanimous conclusion.

The bandages unwrapped from Bakugo and returned to him, "We're wasting time. Move on to the next test in the gym."

He turned and walked away, but Shirou could not help notice something about Bakugo… in his eyes were anger, hate, frustration, surprise…

 _Was there a hint of betrayal?_

Shirou let out a breath he had no idea he was holding.

That Bakugo teen had been volatile, severely so. What kind of learning environment had encouraged his behavior? Shirou walked towards the gym with such thoughts on his mind.

"Care to explain brat?" Aizawa resounded, standing beside Shirou, which was odd seeing as he was supposed to have gone ahead.

 _Did he wait for him?_

"What was that mini-show back there with the Bakugo brat? The other students didn't notice the tension there. I'd rather not have one of my students stabbed."

Shirou sighed, ignoring the jab at his 'quirk'. "Bakugo seemed to be overly aggressive towards Midoriya. I don't know why, but I wanted to stop it from escalating further."

Aizawa let out a snort.

"Hard to stop behavior that's been developed and nurtured for years." He said as he walked to the rest of the students, Shirou following by his side. "Bakugo has always been praised by his peers and teachers, nothing he did was wrong. Add in the fact that Midoriya was considered quirkless before the entrance exam. Do what you want with that information."

 _Always praised and never condemned?_

In a situation like that, Bakugo's ego would surely develop. What about the teachers in his school? Did they not see anything wrong with his attitude?

Midoriya unlocked his quirk during the entrance exam? That can't be true, all the books he had read only mention that quirks unlock at the age of four. Was it like late puberty?

There was also the fact that Aizawa told him such information about the volatile teen, which more than likely should have been confidential. It was getting more confusing the more he learned about it.

Shirou sighed.

A hero school was not supposed to be this complicated.

* * *

Shirou stood among the rest of the students on the track field.

Nothing notable had happened after the ball throw test. Shirou had achieved a somewhat above average score in the sit-up challenge. Aizawa himself had spot him, due to the fact that there were no other students to do so. It was due to this close proximity that Shirou heard him complain about having a non-even number of students in a class.

Next up was the seated toe touch, which Shirou also did above average in. His body was flexible to aid in his sword style and if necessary adapt to other techniques.

The only test he didn't do too well in was the long-distance run, but that was mainly due to the fact that instead of running full power from the start. Shirou had merely jogged his way at a steady pace towards the finish. Granted Aizawa complained, but once he explained his reasoning he relented begrudgingly.

Shirou was also sure that a certain wheezing earphone girl sent him a dirty look at that.

They could both agree that a tired hero was a liability, so he decided to avoid that. He hoped that his classmates would soon realize that too since from his perspective, all the students around him were panting hard, even some of the more athletically inclined students like Iida and Midoriya.

From Midoriya it was understandable, however, his finger was still swollen so the pain probably got to him. On the bright side, he'd learn endurance, namely how to deal with the pain that his own powers caused.

Perhaps all his classmates had yet to learn how to pace themselves for long periods of time? He himself only had surface knowledge as to how to pace himself, but most of that knowledge was from old boxing videos he found in Yu's study. Maybe his adoptive mother liked to watch the sport on occasion?

"Okay, I'll quickly tell you all the results," Aizawa said, drawing Shirou from his thoughts, "The total is simply the marks you got from each test. It's a waste of time to explain verbally, so I'll show you the results all at once."

Shirou nodded at that, he had no more reason to worry. None of the students had all their scores at the bottom. A total tally of their scores would prove fruitless.

Aizawa pressed a button on the device and the scores were displayed.

Shirou was ranked fourth, just below Bakugo.

He turned to glance at the rude teen, Shirou noticed the surprising fact that the teen wore no smirk on his face. Bakugo sent Shirou a glare and turned away to focus on something else.

Shirou sighed in relief, luckily the teen wasn't going to start anything so soon after he was restrained by Aizawa, but he imagined that behavior to change soon… hopefully.

Bakugo had talent in using his quirk, that much Shirou could tell from the innovative movements he made during the first assessment test. All he really needed to do was work on that attitude.

Truly, Shirou could only hope.

Shirou was not totally surprised at seeing Midoriya at the bottom of the totem pole at twenty-first. He had done well in one test but flunked most others.

Jiro was luckily at eighteenth, so she did better than most. Sato admirably reached thirteenth place, which made sense considering the muscles the teen had.

A curious glance sent Midoriya's way yielded the teen staring down at his closed fist in defeat.

Shirou really didn't understand why Midoriya seemed to look so downcast, perhaps he had misheard what Aizawa said? They had to be last place in all of the tests to be considered expelled. Midoriya was certainly not last place in the ball throw.

Aizawa smirked and pressed the button again to retract the final scores.

"By the way, I was lying about the expulsion." He blurted out, a crazed grin followed soon after that. "It was a rational deception to draw out the upper limits of your quirks."

There was a moment of silence.

"" _WHAT!?""_

Shirou covered his ears somewhat at the screeching of his fellow classmates. He did notice that a few were not surprised or concealed their surprise very well.

Bakugo wasn't surprised, the boy with two hair colors, a person with a raven head, and the girl who's quirk was similar to his own magic.

The girl in question rose a brow at her classmate's reactions, "Of course that was a lie. It should've been obvious if you just thought it through."

For some reason, Shirou could not find it in himself to agree. He had seen the look on Aizawa's face both before and after Midoriya's ball throw. Aizawa was a very serious person, he did not like joking around or wasting anyone's time.

Aizawa might have justified his expulsion claim as a lie, but deep down Shirou knew that if Aizawa didn't feel satisfied for Midoriya's performance – if he had failed the ball throw – then he surely would have expelled him without question.

While the majority of the students cheered quietly in relief and started some small talk with one another, Aizawa shoved the device into his pocket, "With that, we're done here." He then made to walk away, "There are handouts with the curriculum and such in the classroom. When you get back, look over them."

He took a slip out of his pocket and handed it to Midoriya, "Midoriya, have the old lady fix you in the nurse's office." Midoriya grabbed the sheet, which prompted the man to turn away. "Remember brat, tomorrow will be packed with even more rigorous tests. Prepare yourself," He sent a slight look to the rest of the students, "That goes for the rest of you too."

Once he was out of sight, Shirou tugged on the nape of his uniform, finding it to be more comfortable to wear now. Near him, Jiro sighed audibly. "Thank god it's over…" She muttered, "I swear that I passed most of those tests by luck."

Shirou let a small smile exit, "It can't be helped Jiro-san. Your quirk doesn't seem suited to physical tests."

"Yeah yeah I know that…" She said, but turned to Sato who stood by them, "This must have been a breeze for you, muscles."

"No way," Sato retorted, "I didn't bring any snacks with me, so I couldn't even use my quirk."

"Oh yeah… now that you mention it you were eating chocolate bars during the exam…" Jiro muttered, "So you need candy and stuff to activate it?"

"Yeah, my quirk is Sugar Rush." He began to explain, "It allows me to gain more physical strength the more sugar I take in, but I can't use it for very long."

"Why is that?" Shirou asked,

Sato grimaced, "I basically get dumber the longer I use the quirk for. I'm still working on that weakness."

It was honestly a detrimental weakness. If he lost his intelligence the more he used his quirk then he could be a liability in the future. His quirk was strikingly similar to madness enhancement, complete with the strengthening of the body and the weakening of sanity.

"There are no long-term side effects, right?" Shirou asked.

"Other than cavities? No no, not at all." He replied jokingly, "I'm pretty sure if there were, I'd be dumber than a rock."

Jiro snorted, "Must have been a pain for your mother when you were a kid."

Sato sighed and nodded, "You have no idea…"

The image of a child-like Sato running around with augmented strength, gouging himself in sweets as his mother tried to stop him, was admittedly amusing in its own way. Especially the dental bills.

"Excuse me, Emiya-san," A voice called, "May we chat for a bit?"

Shirou blinked and turned to the origin behind him. The girl in front of him bowed slightly, "Good morning, Emiya-san. My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, I wish to converse about your quirk."

Shirou nodded despite the slight inward panic. The panic faded completely once he remembered what the quirk of the ravenette in front of him. Her quirk was the creation of objects similar to his magecraft, although she does not appear restricted to a single concept like he was with bladed objects.

He spared a glance to Jiro and Sato, who gave no reply and simply stared at the interaction. Shirou took this as a sign to converse and nodded at Yaoyorozu, "Okay Yaoyorozu-san, that's fine with me."

"Splendid!" She cheered to herself and began to ask, not particularly caring if people overheard, "Might I ask how you managed to shoot an off-balance arrow to a distance of several hundred meters? Such a task does not seem possible on paper."

Ah… this was going to be a problem. He didn't want to reveal magecraft, maybe he could wing the answer? Make it sound something believable.

"I simply created a bow with high tensile strength in the string to support the metal arrow." He answered,

"Truly? I thought standard Japanese bows could not reach that sort of strength…" She muttered, especially when the arrow was off balance, "… Was the arrow altered somewhat as well?"

Shirou nodded, "That's correct. It was back heavy to compensate for the extra weight."

"Was that hard?" She asked, "My quirk allows me to pull off a similar result, but I'd need to think up the integral structure before I can create it. Do you undergo a similar process?"

… Their 'quirks' were truly similar, frighteningly so.

Shirou nodded, "Yes that's right. In order to create the majority of the weaponry I create, I need to visualize the components, materials, and overall creation process of the object."

 _That, and the history of the object._

She seemed to sigh in relief, "Forgive me for feeling relieved Emiya-san. Truthfully, I am relieved that someone else shares the same trouble."

Shirou could relate, but he also felt a bit guilty. He himself does not always need to visualize the object from scratch like she does, the weapons in his reality marble already exist for him to quickly draw from.

She nodded and smiled, pleased at the answer, "I apologize for taking up your time. It is not every day I get to meet people with quirks similar to mine,"

"It's no trouble, Yaoyo–" Shirou replied, however, was cut off by the beeping of a phone.

Yaoyorozu noticed and fumbled to reach her back pocket, "Ah... it seems that class will be resuming in ten minutes, we should all hurry to the changing rooms."

Jiro, who was merely walking idly near the two as they conversed, blinked and gazed at her wristwatch, "Ah! You're right!" She exclaimed out of her previous silence and broke off into a sprint towards the changing room.

"Don't just keep standing there! Move it guys!"

Sato, who had also has stuck with them, broke off into a sprint with a wry smile, "I hear you!"

Shirou sighed at their antics and proceeded to make his way to the changing rooms.

"By the way, Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu started from beside him as they both walked to the changing rooms. No rush apparently needed from the female. "Those blue motes of light that appear when you made your bow and arrow, would you mind explaining that? My quirk doesn't have anything like that happen whatsoever, nor am I capable of destroying my creations like you seemingly can."

Shirou stared at the rocket launcher she had held under her armpit, just now noticing how it had not disappeared at all.

 _The rocket launcher was still there._

At least there were some differences with their shared 'quirk'.

It wouldn't be good if some unsavory individuals obtained the creations she left behind. Such scenarios could be disastrous. In a way, he was lucky that he could destroy his swords easily.

"That… will be harder to explain that the last," Shirou admitted,

"By all means, take your time." She replied after she hefted the rocket launcher onto her shoulder. She used her quirk to create a strap that fits around the latches of the rocket launcher, for ease of carrying. "There's no need to feel rushed."

Shirou sighed and thought of a way to explain it.

"The reason that the bow and arrow disappeared is… tied with those blue motes of light," He said, "All I know is that what I create isn't real. They're all basically fake objects that don't last very long."

She nodded slightly, still not properly understanding, "I see… perhaps what you create is more something akin to astral projections?"

 _If only she knew how right she was._

Shirou vaguely nodded, "Let's go with that explanation. I don't fully know how to explain it anyway."

 _At least not in a way that she and this world would consider logical._

"Hurry up Emiya!" Jiro shouted, already in her uniform. "You have five minutes left!"

Both Shirou and Yaoyorozu reasonably picked up their pace.

* * *

Shirou stepped out of the school gates, ready to walk back to home.

It was a marginally stressful morning followed by somewhat jovial orientations. It appeared that the rest of the teachers did not think like Aizawa – threatening their students with expulsion to do better, even if the outcome of that lie gave him what he wanted.

Shirou sighed and turned to the street,

"Hey Emiya, you going home?" A familiar voice called.

Shirou stopped and turned to meet Jiro and Sato standing behind him with grins. "You sure you want to go alone? We could follow you up to the station."

Shirou shook his head in apology, "Sorry, but my home is close to here. I won't be heading to the station."

Jiro's smile fell and she nodded, "I see, well good luck to you man. What about you, Sato? Your home nearby too?"

He shook his head, "Nope, I can go with you–"

"Hey! Isn't that Jiro-san and Sato-san?!"

This time, they all collectively turned to face the visage of the ever bubbly Uraraka, closely behind her was Iida and Midoriya.

Jiro widened her eyes, "Oh wait, weren't you the infinity girl?"

"I'm Uraraka Ochaco!" Uraraka then widened her eyes after she registered what Jiro said and stared at her, then turned to Iida, "When did everyone start to call me the infinity girl? First, Iida-kun and then Jiro-san…"

Sato chuckled, "It probably started when you hit an infinity for the ball throw,"

Shirou could only nod in agreement.

"I guess so…" She clapped in confirmation before looking at everyone gathered, "I was going to invite some friends along, but they're busy so I guess I can bring all of you instead!"

"… Pardon me Uraraka-san," Iida cut in, "I don't believe we follow. Could you explain further?"

She nodded, "You see I won a couple of coupons for a cafe opening nearby, so I wanted everyone to join me!" She reasoned with a smile as she took out a total of twelve coupons. "Since there six of us here, we can use the rest later if you want! We can spend the day getting to know each other! It'll be fun!"

Shirou initially didn't seem all too thrilled, but once he took a glance at the coupons he realized something about them. It was a seventy-five percent discount, that was basically unheard of in Fuyuki. It seemed like Jiro and Sato were on board with the idea.

"Sure we can, it's basically free food too. Who can turn down free food?" Jiro said, to which Sato nodded.

"In that case, I see no problem," Iida stated positively, "Relaxation at such a venue would certainly be welcome if Aizawa-sensei has a similar lesson planned for tomorrow. It would do well to learn about each other vividly."

Uraraka nodded, not really having understood what he said but went along with it. "Great! Follow me! It's near the station down the road."

Shirou was basically going down the opposite road to his home, but he was also reminded that Yu would have thrown a fit if she learned that he turned it down.

 _With a smile, her hand rose and ruffled his hair, "Good luck, Shirou." She gave a soft peck on his forehead, "Don't forget to make some friends too, okay?"_

Shirou admittedly shook his head slightly with a smile at the memory. Honestly, if Rin were to see him now… He wondered what she would think of him.

* * *

The scenery had changed a little bit. Trees grew out of the sidewalk as only a few people leisurely walked about in peace. Normally straying far from his home was a bad idea, Shirou did not worry. His ankle tracker wasn't ringing preemptively in warning so that meant he was still within range.

"Over there! It's the cafe!"

The group walked until they saw the huge sign, a coffee cup being stirred by a rapier. It was a unique logo that was true, but Shirou could not help but be captivated by the name of the establishment.

 _Cafe d'Acier_

"Come one you guys!" Uraraka said as she cheerfully pointed at the sign that was up front, "The sign says it's open!"

As the group prepared to make their way in, Jiro stopped and took a look at them, "Hey guys, look over there. It's Todoroki."

 _Todoroki?_

Shirou raked his brain over to figure out who it was but couldn't, so he followed Jiro's gaze to a white and red haired individual wearing the uniform of U.A. He recognized him now – it was hard not to with such unique colored hair – he had placed within the top five during the assessment test.

"Really?" Uraraka parroted, taking a few steps back to check.

Once she saw him, she beamed and made her way over to him, ignoring Iida's asking what she was doing. "Hello, Todoroki-san!"

She stopped in front of him, prompting him to do so as well with an ever so slightly surprised expression. "I'm Uraraka Ochaco, your classmate! Are you here for the cafe too!?"

Uraraka had her finger pointing to Todoroki's breast pocket, noticing a similar coupon.

The teen followed her gaze and nodded. He didn't regard her with a verbal answer, but the bubbly girl seemed to not care and took what she could get.

"Great! We can all hang out together!"

Todoroki grimaced slightly and shook his head, his message not conveying clearly. "I don't want to intrude. Your group seems large enough already…" He trailed off as he glanced towards the cafe.

"It's no problem, right guys!?" She shouted.

"R-right!" Midoriya stuttered.

"I do not see an issue," Iida stated, "In fact, it would be a grand opportunity to learn more about you, Todoroki-san."

The majority shrugged, most likely because they did not care. Which was true seeing as they all barely knew each other properly, one new person wouldn't change much.

Todoroki seemed to be visibly frustrated but nodded anyway. "Fine then. I'll only be here for a few minutes so I'll be out of your hair soon. I'm only supposed to meet my sister."

"No problem, no problem!" Uraraka seemed to nod at the comment. They had wasted enough time outside the shop that it would probably count as loitering.

The group pushed their way into the cafe, feeling the sudden change in atmosphere as the heat faded into cool air-conditioning. Shirou opted to be the last one to enter, since the group was big he took the time to simply gaze at the surroundings, feeling an admittedly pleasant feeling.

The cafe was in a nice venue, the few cars passing by allowing them to feel relaxed, and the falling leaves of the trees outside spoke of serenity.

Whoever chose this spot to open a cafe must have been a genius.

Shirou entered the cafe and allowed the door to close itself behind him… only to find a waitress in front of the group.

She seemed to be stuttering as she stared at one person in particular.

"S-Shoto!?" She said, "Why are you here? Don't you have school?"

The teen in question answered, although he seemed annoyed at answering, "Father handed me this coupon and told me to go in his stead, he said he had a meeting with some people."

The waitress nodded hesitantly, however, noticed there were other people around.

"So Todoroki's sister works here?" Jiro muttered, gazing both at her and the cafe.

Iida nodded, "Surprising, she looks good in that outfit."

"Iida-kun, I didn't know you were into that~"

"Y-You misunderstand Uraraka-kun!"

The waitress smiled and bowed, "Nice to meet you all, my name is Todoroki Fuyumi. I'm Shoto's elder sister."

Shirou could certainly see the resemblances between them.

They both had snow white hair paired with red. Shoto having a fair split between the colors, but Todoroki Fuyumi had hers being almost purely snow white in color, save for the few flecks of pale red across her scalp.

She also wore glasses. If Rin were here, she would have commented on how it made her look better.

While the antics unfolded before him, all Shirou admittedly did was stare at the interior of the cafe. The majority of it was a soft oaken brown, which gave a feeling of homeliness. The seats seemed comfy, which was always a plus. There were a few customers pleasantly relaxing either drinking their coffee or eating a cake of some kind.

From what he could see on the menu, he was pleasantly surprised. Yu would definitely have wanted him to take out the strawberry shortcake.

It seemed that nothing could take off the smile on his face as he took in the atmosphere of Cafe d'Acier…

… until he heard _that_ voice.

"Todoroki! Have you seated the guests yet? I heard the bell a while ago but I haven't seen a single order."

 _A sword stabbed into the barren wastelands–_

Shirou paled.

Fuyumi jumped and widened her eyes, "That's right, I forgot! Take a seat anywhere you want, the cafe has a lot of free seats– but that doesn't mean we're struggling or anything! N-New cafe's have competition after all!"

A loud and audible sigh came from behind her. Once more, the familiar voice took hold of his focus. "You truly need to work on your floor skills Todoroki, being jittery in front of customers isn't good for business."

– _Two more blades joined it atop the lonely hill–_

Jiro looked at Shirou's direction with curiosity, "Emiya, is something wrong?"

Meanwhile, Fuyumi turned to the person behind her and nodded shyly at him, "I apologize, Owner-san. I'll try to do better next time."

A man wearing a barista's clothing with neatly combed up silvery white hair and tanned skin walked over to them. "It's fine Todoroki, I didn't expect you to have experience when I hired you after all."

– _The ever-present rusty dawn bathed the barren fields–_

He faced away from her and smiled at the group of students with his steel gray eyes.

"Welcome to Cafe d'Acier, how may we help… you…"

His voice and smile trailed off as he stared at Shirou.

Shirou honestly would have done the same thing if he were talking, but he already had a paling complexion to compensate. He steeled his will and forced away from the feeling that threatened to crawl out his stomach.

– _Giant gears of steel shrouded in clouds of clouded ash–_

When the man's greetings trailed off, the group around them started to notice the odd tension that began rising when both the manager and Shirou stared at each other. If they knew of his– both their circumstances, then surely they would understand the tension between them…

"… I should have expected it, truly I should have…" The owner said, "… What are you doing here, Emiya Shirou?"

– _and there he stood… atop the lonely hill of swords._

Shirou frowned. "I came here because I was invited by my classmates… Archer."

* * *

Aizawa sighed, ruffling through the documents on his desk with relief.

He had finally finished the paperwork and got his timetable figured out. The principal was having difficulties managing the individual timetables of each class, they had to align it well enough that none of the teachers for the hero course became fatigued or overworked. That would be bad for both the school and their main profession.

That being said, none of the said heroes were in the faculty room with him whatsoever. In fact, most of them went out drinking to celebrate the start of the school year. He would have joined them, but regrettably, the bundle of paperwork in his hands kept him from doing so.

"Excuse me, Aizawa-sensei?" A voice called.

Aizawa was prompted to gaze away from the damnable stack of paper and into the eyes of one of his students.

"Ah, Yaoyorozu Momo correct?" Aizawa asked. When he received a nod from her he continued. " Why are you here? There shouldn't be a reason as to why you're here… Unless I miscounted the curriculum papers and you want a copy."

She nodded, "That is precisely why I'm here sir."

Aizawa inhaled slowly, before exhaling with a seething sound. He had been so used to twenty students per class that he had forgotten that the latest batch of students numbered at twenty-one, both in Class A and in Class B.

"I see… if you'll take a seat and wait a moment, then I can start printing a new sheet for you."

The teenager took a seat on one of the chairs to the side of the faculty. She glanced curiously on Aizawa's desk, seeing the papers and documents.

She tore her view away, there was a chance that there was an exam there prepared months before it would be given, she would not be accused of cheating for that–

An audible bang echoed the empty faculty room.

"Damn printing machine. If I get my hands on the manufacturers I'll tear their…" He was pushing the cancel button numerous times, which somehow told the machine to print more pictures of lemurs. _Lemurs._

With a frustrated sigh he walked away from the machine and grabbed a pen, "I'll just write it down for you. You want to get home quickly and that machine isn't helping…"

Yaoyorozu nodded, as Aizawa began using a ruler to manually draw out the curriculum table, ignoring the machine in the background that continued to waste ink on lemurs–

Never mind it was penguins now. _Penguins._

"Aizawa-sensei, if you don't mind me asking this," She started, "When will we be learning how to use our quirks better?"

"Unfortunately right now, we're still in the testing phases." He answered, multitasking and writing down numbers under the column labeled 'time'. "We tested your maximum capabilities, so it should only be fair to do the same when in a combat situation. Prepare mentally and physically for tomorrow."

Yaoyorozu widened her eyes and nodded, "Yes I will, thank you Aizawa… sensei…"

Aizawa momentarily paused at the girls trailed off reply. He stared at the teen that gazed at his open laptop… which revealed his social media account that he forgot to close.

There was a picture of Yu jovially jumping in the background as she held two of her fellow Heroes in a vice grip… there was a young Emiya shaking his head in the background.

"Is that Emiya-san?" She muttered out in slight surprise.

"Yes," He replied, "He is the adopted son of my colleague, she often takes random photos without consent." Such as that one.

She nodded in understanding. Thankfully she didn't comment on the 'adopted' portion of the reply, however, she pursed her lips as a new thought came to mind, luckily Aizawa didn't have to waste energy in finding out what that thought was.

"Sensei, do you know why Emiya-san created a bow when a gun could have accomplished more…?" She asked.

"Why didn't you ask him yourself?" Aizawa replied in turn as he tried to focus on the task at hand.

She had the decency to look ever so slightly embarrassed. "There were time constraints, Aizawa-sensei. I was more focused on my studies and completing the assigned homework early, I didn't really expect him to leave class so early…"

So the brat left as soon as the bell rang? Aizawa didn't think he was the type to do so, but then again his adoptive mother basically did the same thing during her school years. It didn't mean it was a bad thing though, the brat probably wanted to do his homework at home where it's supposed to be done.

Completing homework early at school was a good idea, however, it left more time for her to focus on training or studying, considering who Yaoyorozu was it was excusable. Her quirk required a lot more studying that most would.

Aizawa sighed, "Fine, I'll answer you. The brat has limited skills, specialized you could say. His mother– my colleague, often described his quirk to primarily focus on swords, but after the entrance exams, it became apparent that he could use shields too. We hypothesis his quirk focuses on weaponry from medieval periods."

"Which means he might not be able to make a gun… That's incredibly limited…" She also muttered something about not explaining motes of light, "Can he really be a hero when all he has is lethal weaponry? It would set a bad example for the children."

Ignoring the fact that making a gun is also a bad example… but then again he had a fellow teacher named Snipe with a gun that barely misses, and the Pro Hero Gunhead that has two gun barrels as gauntlets.

It was probably because swords are more censored than guns in modern media.

Although… Was she already thinking of setting an example? Not bad, as expected of someone who got in through recommendations.

"Yes that's true, but you could argue that your quirk is also lethal if used right. It would be hard for the brat, but there is no denying that he is skillful for his age." Aizawa admitted, lost in the idle banter, "If you both were to fight with weaponry, then I wouldn't be surprised to find that he would win."

"He uses swords, correct?" She clarified, "If that's true then couldn't I simply need to create a spear to keep him at a distance?"

"I'd say yes…" Aizawa said, "… but I know that it wouldn't help."

"Why? The spear was used more than the sword in ancient periods such as imperial Japan due to it's longer reach–"

"–Because the brat will have other options available to him." He replied, "If you compared the time it took for him to create weaponry and the time it would take for you to do the same thing, he will produce it faster. He also undoubtedly has more training in swordplay than you, which will bring an edge compared to someone with little training, like you."

That being said, Yaoyorozu's quirk is certainly more versatile than his, but would it be enough to overcome the skill disparity? Aizawa didn't think so, but in the end, it would all depend on the situation.

He wasn't sure if the brat was trained in the other weaponry like spears or axes, but seeing as he learned Kyuudou from a mysterious teacher… Aizawa wouldn't be surprised if he magically gained knowledge on it before their next class.

Yaoyorozu was momentarily stunned, "… You certainly have a very high opinion of Emiya-san, sensei." She commented.

"Hell no, the contrary in fact. The brat can drive his head through a brick wall for all I care."

"That's horrible, Aizawa-sensei!"

"Life is horrible, get with the program." He blurted out, although he rose his eyes once more to glance at the student before him.

Yaoyorozu noticed his gaze after a few moments.

"What's wrong, Aizawa sensei?"

"I can tell you're still not convinced that you would lose if you fought the brat." He said, to which she nodded in reply. In his own way, Aizawa could see where she drew her confidence from.

The teen had been praised for her quirk, had gotten into U.A. due to the versatility of her quirk, and she hadn't even needed to perform in the entrance exam but took the recommendation exam instead, which would be a big ego boost for any hormone-driven teenager.

She nodded in confirmation.

"You have confidence I'll give you that…" Aizawa offhandedly commented, "I guess anything can happen in battle…"

Aizawa took a glance at his timetable…

 _Hmm?_

He was taking care of Class B's first lesson. Why? He swore that Cementoss was going to do it, but that would mean… Aizawa let a small smirk rise as he completed the manual copy of the timetable.

… _how long will you have that confidence, Yaoyorozu Momo?_

"Here's your timetable," He said as he dully gave the paper. Yaoyorozu nodded in thanks as she received it. "Yaoyorozu. Do not underestimate potential allies and enemies, consider that my first advice to you as a teacher."

Yaoyorozu tilted her head but nodded, "Thank you sensei… but I believe that I am not underestimating anyone. I am merely aware of my own abilities."

– _However, you aren't aware of the brat's abilities_

Aizawa knew of it, he had seen the results first hand, from the first villain whose face they had to perform surgery on to the wounds that littered a certain mass serial killer. The kid was as dangerous as a villain could be… but he was a student in his school now, a responsibility that fell on him.

The kid seemed to have no problem with using lethal actions when lives are in jeopardy, that will be the behavior that he had to curb out first. If he couldn't, then at least Aizawa could focus on teaching non-lethal takedown methods.

Unfortunately, the she-brat in front of him had no such knowledge of the brat's skills. She was only measuring their capabilities based on their versatility.

While it was true that versatility is one of the greatest features a modern Hero could have, versatility was often trumped by skill more times than he could count. The girl was book smart, but the same could not be said on the battlefield.

As Yaoyorozu left the faculty room, Aizawa could feel the tingling on his fingertips… The brat must be getting into trouble somewhere.

 _Damn brat–_

Aizawa's phone rang, prompting a cut in his thoughts as he took a look at the message… It was from the principal,

… Who had used the remote printing function of the printer to print several animal pictures for a charity fundraiser…

Pictures, that Aizawa had mostly erased after pressing the cancel function numerous times…

 _Damn piece of–_

* * *

The wrought Iron Magus, servant of Alaya, someone whose existence Shirou fundamentally rejects–

"Archer?" Fuyumi muttered, "Do you two know each other? Is that an old nickname of yours, Farran-san?"

–was the owner of a cafe near his school – just down the street.

 _Farran?_

Archer spared a glance Shirou's way before he turned to the waitress and nodded stiffly,

"You could say that, Todoroki. It's not something I like to talk about though…" He fully faced Shirou this time and somewhat narrowed his eyes, "… I'm not surprised you're still calling me that… boy?"

Archer took a few seconds to stare at Shirou – and another few seconds to simply blink away the surprise – which the red-haired magus did not appreciate, even though he himself knew why.

It wasn't every day you meet your younger self, being younger. Then again this was Archer, Shirou wouldn't be surprised if Archer met a younger version of himself before – well, an even younger version of himself.

He took a few moments to simply stare at Shirou, before sighing and facing away. "This is unexpected… While it annoys me to even look at you boy… my job comes first. If all of you would come this way, I'll lead you all to your seats."

"Aren't you already busy, Owner-san?" Fuyumi asked while for some reason twiddling her thumbs.

Why was Todoroki – their classmate – twitching his eye violently? Did something get in his eye?

Archer turned and merely gave her a soft smile, "Don't worry Todoroki, I can handle the extra workload. You can go take a break."

"T-Thank you, Owner-san!" Todoroki – the waitress – nodded and made her way to the break room after bowing in thanks. She was smiling as she did so, most likely due to the prospect of relaxing.

She would definitely need to relax. She seemed unwell, judging from how red in the face she was. Maybe she was breathing hard from working too long?

Todoroki should really get a someone to look at his eye.

The group followed him. Shirou also followed, but he was lagging behind the rest of the students, his thoughts straying and focusing on Archer.

"Hey, Emiya. Who is that 'Farran' guy?" Jiro asked, walking slower so that she could speak with him. "He doesn't seem to like you very much."

"The feeling is mutual," Shirou replied, "It has something to do with our past." _Swords flying and arms screaming in agony,_ "I'm not really comfortable with talking about it."

"Is he a good person?" Todoroki asked from beside him, his dual chromatic eyes staring intently at Archer's backside for some reason.

Shirou begrudgingly nodded. "Not too sure. If it's his character then I can't say he isn't a good person, but he is far from a bad one." Deep down Archer was still a good person, at least that's what Rin would say.

While Todoroki merely kept silent, Jiro nodded in understanding. "I see… well anyway, if it bothers you then you can just talk with us. Uraraka-san seems like the type to do so."

Shirou nodded in reply, even if Uraraka right now seemed too busy trying to chat up the nervous Midoriya. Luckily Iida and Sato were there to help him out.

His thoughts took hold once more. Shirou knew how the magus arrived in this world, they were pulled together with the blond king after all, but what he didn't understand, was why Archer owned a cafe of all things?

Shirou's nose twitched, and it wasn't because of the smell of the coffee.

The servant still felt like his old form, yet Shirou could not feel that Archer was still a servant. In fact, Archer felt like a human through and through. Was it due to the odd dimensional travel? Shirou himself had gotten magically younger, perhaps Archer also experienced something similar?

"All of you may take the larger table in the corner," Archer called as he gestured to a rather quaint area of the cafe. Nothing there was intrusive, you could focus solely on relaxation. "Make yourselves at home. Cafe d'Acier prioritizes customer satisfaction, so take your time in scanning our menu."

Despite the fact that it sounded rehearsed, it did not feel out of place when Archer smiled their way, ignoring Shirou's existence of course. Mutually, Shirou chose to do the same and made his way to the table with the rest of the students.

"If you want to talk then excuse yourself to the restroom," Archer muttered.

Before Shirou could give a response, he spun around and gazed at the students, "A waiter will be with you all shortly in a few minutes, have a nice day."

Archer walked away into the back, sending one last glance Shirou's way as he disappeared into the corridor.

Shirou sighed and fought the urge the rub his face. He turned to the group and gave a genuinely apologetic smile, "Sorry guys, I have to use the restroom."

"Don't take too long, Emiya-san!" Uraraka shouted before she was berated by Iida about public decency and disrupting the atmosphere.

He spared the sight a chuckle as he walked into the back corridor.

Shirou did not need instructions on where to go. He felt the prana in the air when he entered the cafe, following it was an easy task.

Shirou entered a room with a dozen sealed boxes and a lazy cat clock.

A Storeroom – not the bathroom surprisingly, but then again there was a chance that they would be overheard in such a place. Above all, Archer would not want to risk that. The person in question had his eyes closed and stood, calmly leaning against the closed boxes.

 _Once more upon that hill of swords–_

There was no mistaking it, it was Archer.

He opened his eyes upon sensing his presence and sent a glance his way, "It took you a while to get here, boy."

Shirou fought the urge to groan from the feedback but nodded. The tension between them was there, he could still feel it.

"I suppose it would take you a lot longer than usual. After all, you actually became a boy." He mocked.

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "I didn't come here to play games Archer."

"Of course you didn't, boy." Archer once more mocked, muttering about how he was going to enjoy it every time. He folded his arms under his chest, "You must be curious as to why I own a cafe?"

"That's right," Shirou admitted, "I don't even know how you went and got the right to buy a place to set up shop, or how it was possible."

"I could say the same thing about how you managed to become a student, at the school with the highest rated Hero Course in the country."

The two simply stared at each other. They were holding secrets from each other that was for sure. Shirou did not truly want to let Archer know about Yu, there was no telling what he would do with that information. Similarly, Archer had his own circumstances, it would be hypocritical of him to argue otherwise.

– _Giant overbearing gears rusted beyond measure–_

Then again, they were both hypocrites.

"It's clear that we both don't want to talk about our own circumstances," Archer said, mirroring Shirou's own thoughts, "We can both agree to ignore them, however, we will need to discuss them extensively at a later date. Do you agree with that, boy?"

Shirou ignored the twitch on his brow as he nodded. He was truly getting annoyed at the number of times he had called him a boy. If it was anyone else than Shirou would have been fine, but since it was Archer, annoyance was the only response he could conjure up.

"Good," Archer concluded, "Now on to the first order of business, what are you planning on doing in this world until Rin gets here?"

What was he planning on doing? For certain he was going to graduate and strive to become a hero of justice. Maybe he could help out Yu with her–

 _Wait, what?_

Shirou stumbled forward with his eyes wide. The first time he had honestly done so in this world. "What?! Rin's here–?!"

He was cut short as Archer smacked his head roughly.

"Fool! Of course she's not here!" He berated, his own annoyance growing to match Shirou's own.

"Then, what do you mean by until Rin get's here?" Shirou repeated, ignoring the insult. "How could Rin get here in the first place? She wasn't dragged into that portal with us."

Shirou was almost a hundred percent sure that she was still with Saber. He was confident that the King of Britain was more than capable enough to protect Rin from whatever threat existed at his home dimension.

Archer rubbed his head with a sigh,

"I forgot that you wouldn't know…" Another deeper sigh was exhaled, "Okay, I'll only explain this once. Based on my knowledge of the future, my Master should be working on gaining tutelage under a certain Dead Apostle Ancestor."

Shirou rose a brow at the claim, there were only a few Dead Apostle Ancestors that would even interact cordially with humankind. The one he knew of the most was… Shirou let his eyes slowly widen.

A thickly garbed being of immeasurable power, annoyingly smirking as he watched him from afar.

"You know his name already, Kiritsugu already taught us that much," Archer confirmed, ignoring the fact that he himself had a lot of unsavory meetings with the Dead Apostle Ancestor. "Zelretch Kischur Schweinorg – The second true magician who mastered the Kaleidoscope. In other words, she will be apprenticing under him to learn inter-dimensional travel."

"Rin will be learning that…?That's frankly amazing." Shirou muttered in soft disbelief. He knew that Rin was talented beyond belief despite the few times she failed spectacularly. It was part of the reason he fell for her.

"I agree, however, I said that she was working on gaining tutelage." Archer reminded, "While I am not too sure on how the passing of time works in this world in comparison to our old one, but it has to be vaguely similar. It will take years for Rin to gain said apprenticeship – possibly longer to actually master it, that is why I asked you what you planned to do until she got here. We will be here for a long time."

That was… Shirou was just told that there was a way back, but that way back was more than likely several years away. In a way it was cruel, but Shirou could not blame Archer for it. He had just informed him of something he should have known. It was the most pragmatic choice for him to make.

Shirou frowned and sighed. "If Rin were here, she'd say something about getting my hopes up."

"She would." Archer agreed, eyes closed as he reminisced.

It was something that Shirou had never seen his future self actually do during the Holy Grail War, but then again they had almost no interaction other than the whole murder-his-past-self thing. In a sense, the two of them never truly known each other through casual speech.

The two of them certainly knew how each other fought, their battle habits, and especially about each other's thoughts on his ideal. However actual civilized discussion? They never had it. Not once.

A few moments of silence passed.

It seemed that both of them grew tired of the silence, so Archer sighed and ruffled his head. Something Rin once called the standard Emiya reaction for some reason. Luckily, Shirou had the perfect question to ask to erase the silence.

"What do you think of this world, Archer?" Shirou asked, "This is a world of heroes and villains. I was surprised when I first found out."

Archer sneered at his question.

"… I was wondering when you'd ask that." He muttered. This was related to their former shared ideal after all. "If I had to describe this world… I'd describe it as, nothing special."

Shirou blinked.

"Surprised?" Archer mocked, "You shouldn't be. This world, despite all the heroes and the villains in it, is not all that different to ours." He sent a glance his way, "The law system is still the same, albeit harsher."

"Harsh?" Shirou muttered, however, his eyes widened as a conclusion took form, "Archer, did you–"

– _Arrows flew across the ashen sky, barreling into those who he had summoned to slay–_

"Nothing extreme boy," Archer interrupted, having already sensed the conclusion Shirou had reached. He must have been wrong then, although Shirou wouldn't put it past him to kill a villain if push came to shove. He had a philosophy of saving the majority by killing the few.

That thought alone made Shirou frown, but he calmed himself down despite the influx of feedback they were sharing.

Archer must have gotten entangled with law enforcement in this world in a different form then.

"Actually, if we were in our world, I wouldn't have got into trouble at all… You can blame this world's aberrant mutations known as quirks for that."

 _Quirks?_

"What do quirks have to do with the harsher law?" Shirou asked.

"Everything."

Shirou rose a brow, which prompted the older self to elaborate.

"Think about it boy. Use your head for things other than swords for once." He berated, ignoring the irony of his statement. Despite his berating, he complied. "Who and where did quirks first manifest in? Children, kids, and babies who grew up in a world much like ours. War and poverty-driven countries were a growing problem. Nuclear war threats by foolish bigots. In a world like that, those children had the power to do something about it."

Archer's eyes grew stern, "Give idealistic children enough power and they'll do something either truly great or equally terrible. The best of intentions do not always lead to the best of outcomes. Governments ordered their restraint, civil war and global unrest, fears about pandemics, convoluted theories – even Alaya would start to worry. This world walked a bloody path to reach the current state of 'peace'."

Archer snorted. "You must be learning something like that at school right?"

No, Shirou hadn't had a real lesson yet, but for some reason, he knew that he was not going to be taught the bloody history of the world. Teaching young aspiring heroes such a cruel and grim reality would be better for the long run, but not when they're still young.

However, Shirou did do an advanced reading of the matter. Numerous reports that Yu had owned were detailed in explaining history to him. He didn't draw the conclusion that Archer did, but he at least he now knew why the laws were somewhat harsher.

They were made to suppress any and all possible uprisings.

… However, such a method should have long since faded into history. There was new, better, and more efficient way to deal with teens with too much power. Giving them direction and purpose as state-approved heroes were one of them. The system wasn't perfect, the existence of villains proved that much, but it was better than the past. That was enough.

"It doesn't explain why the laws are still strict though," Shirou muttered. After all, if they had something better, then why keep it around?

The man scoffed.

"Politics. It worked years ago so why bother changing it at all?" Archer mocked, eyes no doubt drifting to a far-off memory, "No matter the world or time, politics is still the same."

Stood upon a pedestal, overlooking the jeering and cursing crowd of those he had saved. It didn't matter if he earned their ire, as long as they were saved

Those words had more experience then Shirou would have wanted to acknowledge.

"… but," Archer continued, "There is one thing better in this world compared to ours if you disregard the path this world walked."

"What would that be, Archer?"

"It's a better place for brain dead fools like you to exist in." He said with a sneer.

Shirou truly just wanted to at least punch his older self at least once, but he could tell that what he said was pure honesty.

The servant was legitimately truthful with what he said about this world and people like him. People who want to become allies of justice.

Heroes.

In his old world… The wish to be a hero was a wish for people to be saved. However, in this world, wishing for such a thing was pointless.

There were already people like that in this world, people that are always in need of help, people who need to be saved from villains, people who need heroes. Shirou could become a hero in this world.

No matter the world, saving people was not wrong. In this world, nothing could be truer.

Shirou could not help but let a small smile rise. Even his future cynical self-admitted that this world was perfect for people like him… Perhaps he could convince Rin to stay with him in this world of heroes instead of bringing them back?

 _Also, there's no Mages Association. Rin could go as wild as much as she wants in this world._

Archer saw his pleased expression and grimaced, "Okay, I don't know what got you so pleased, at all… but I can see that we have nothing more to talk about. We should part ways here."

It was abrupt, but Shirou agreed. The servant most likely still had work to do if the clipboard next to him was any indicator, and he needed to get back to his classmates.

Shirou was still curious as to how and why Archer got himself a cafe… Although he could draw his own conclusion. There was a chance that Archer wanted to stay in this world. At least Shirou wouldn't be alone with that thought if it was true.

However, asking for confirmation could wait for another time. He knew where Archer worked – and technically lived – so he could always get answers later, especially on what happened to him during the months in this world of heroes.

"Not going to comment on why your name is _Farran_?" Shirou asked with an ever so slight mischievous smile.

"I needed a name, it was the first one to come to mind. It's stressful coming up with a name on the spot."

"If Rin were here she'd say how you overworked that mind of yours. Don't kill yourself from stress, at least not before Rin kills you herself."

"Worry about yourself instead of me, you fool. Otherwise, Rin will make my death even worse. I don't want to see myself hit by a Gandr anytime in the future."

Despite the tension that existed between them – that still somewhat existed between them – it had eased itself away… Then again, maybe always seeking to kill each other, was the prime reason for their past tension. Even now they had still been wary of each other, but it wasn't to the extent of before.

Shirou was still not going to agree with Archer's thoughts about his ideals, that wasn't going to change even if eternity passed him by.

* * *

"Hey Emiya, what took you so long?" Jiro called from her seat as Shirou walked to them. She seemed to already be eating a chocolate cake, happily enjoying it with a smile. If it was baked to perfection then Shirou supposed that she would be.

Shirou looked at the table, noticing that someone was missing. "Where did Todoroki go?" He asked.

"He said that he had some business to attend to," Iida replied, "It is quite unfortunate that we did not converse long at all."

"He was in a hurry too," Jiro pitched in, "Too bad he didn't get to try this cake."

Sato nodded furiously as he gazed upon what he had ordered, a simple cheesecake. However, even from here Shirou could see the love and care that was put into the confection. Perfectly sculpted, baked, and overall a pleasure to view and taste.

But since Shirou had been conversing with Archer earlier, he was sure that it was not Archer who baked everything. Either he prepared them all beforehand, or it was all made by someone else.

Sato turned to Shirou, "If you're hungry, then you can ask the waiter over up front. He seems like a nice guy, a bit shy though."

Shirou nodded, "Alright, I'll be back after I'm done with my order."

"Can you get me another chocolate parfait, Shirou-san?!" Uraraka exclaimed, "I didn't savor mine and ate it too quickly!"

True enough, her glass was empty.

Shirou suppressed a chuckle and nodded, "I'll be sure to do that, Uraraka-san."

He walked away from the group, idly allowing his eyes to roam and search for the waiter in question, only now remembering that he did not ask for his description. Luckily he didn't need to turn back as he saw a person in a waiter outfit standing somewhat nervously upfront.

They did mention that he was shy, they didn't mention that his pants seem uncomfortably tight and that he didn't seem to have any pockets on his being whatsoever, which was highly unpractical that even Archer wouldn't consider.

Shirou approached, "Excuse me? I'd like to make an order."

The waiter, lightly blond with somewhat baggy eyes, jumped ever so slightly, letting a small yelp out. As he did, his nameplate jingled, revealing his name to him.

 _Setsuno Toya._

He calmed himself and faced Shirou. "Yes, d-dear customer! If you could follow me, I'll lead you to y-your seat."

"Actually, I'm with the other U.A. students who you took orders from before. I was in the restroom so I couldn't place an order." Shirou corrected.

The waiter blinked and flipped through a notepad a few times, eyes widening as he took the information in. "Ah! That's right… those students did mention that they had someone else with them…" He took out a pen and smiled nervously in his direction, "S-sorry, it's my first day on the job. What would you like to order sir?"

"I'd like two strawberry shortcakes, one of them to-go, and iced coffee," Shirou replied, having already thought on the order earlier. "My classmate also wanted another chocolate parfait."

The waiter nodded and smiled wryly his way, "You can go back to your friends now, I'll b-be back with your order."

As he walked away, Shirou could not help notice the odd stares that Setsuno, the waiter, was getting. He also sent them looks, but they were of apology rather than the suspicion he was getting in return.

Shirou wanted to question it, truly he did, but decided it wasn't the best time or place to do so. Maybe he could ask Archer later? This was his employee, and it wouldn't be like Archer if he neglected to say anything about this.

Upon returning to his table, he was met with a few odd stares from his classmates. "Is there something wrong?" He asked as he took a seat.

"No, not really…" Midoriya muttered, "We were just talking about the tests that Aizawa-sensei gave us, he scolded you when you purposely tried to get last on one test."

"I had nearly forgotten about that," Iida commented, "While I admire the fact that you tried helping us all pass, I feel that it was a trial that we were supposed to overcome on our own. As Aizawa-sensei said, don't let others do it for you."

"Ignoring the hypocrisy of that statement, It does make us feel a bit useless," Jiro added, also ignoring the indignant gasp that Iida gave. "It's like we're damsels-in-distress to you. We're heroes-in-training, we should be able to handle at least this much Emiya."

"It wasn't my intention to make you all think that," Shirou sighed, "I'll try not to do it again."

"But you have to admit," Sato said, "You did do it with the best of intentions, so don't worry about it too much."

"That shot was cool though!" Uraraka added, "It went fwoom and then thwack into the ground!"

"Yaoyorozu beat him with a rocket launcher though," Jiro commented.

Shirou smiled, "And you beat us all with your own score, infinity girl."

"Not you too Shirou-san!"

As the antics of the students ensued, Shirou noticed the waiter walking towards them. He held his right hand a tray, atop it was his dine-in shortcake and Uraraka's parfait. On his left, a neat paper bag bearing Cafe d'Acier's logo, most likely holding Yu's portion.

"Here is your order," He said, placing the tray on the table. Luckily there was still free space, "A-and here is your to-go sir."

Shirou smiled as he took the box from him, setting it aside for later. "Thank you, Setsuno-san."

The waiter blinked in surprise, "You actually looked at my name tag…" He muttered, "That's a first…"

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" Shirou asked.

He shook his head with a wry smile, "No n-not really sir…" He answered trailing off slightly. Luckily no one pushed for an answer as they ate their orders.

Shirou savored the fluffy and creamy texture in combination with the neatly chopped strawberries. Yu would certainly want to try this, and perhaps everything else on Archer's menu.

–But there was no way he was bringing Yu here. There was no telling what the reaction of his future self would be to her. He didn't want to risk an incident.

"Look at those zeroes…" Jiro muttered, staring at the receipt like it was an abomination. "We are so lucky that we have those coupons. Were those cakes… that expensive?"

"They were so good that we just kept ordering more and more…" Midoriya muttered, despair creeping up into his face as he scanned his wallet. "… maybe I shouldn't come back until I get more allowance."

"I… believe you speak truth there, Midoriya-kun," Iida added.

The U.A. students handed Setsuno their coupons, narrowing the overall price of their purchases to a more manageable seventy-five percent off. At the back of Shirou's mind, he noted that he spent as much as a normal high school student would when hanging out with friends. If this was the discounted price, then he prayed for the students that don't know how to budget.

They all exited the cafe, allowing Uraraka to twirl in place with a smile directed at them all. "Bye-bye, everyone! We'll see each other again in class!" Uraraka exclaimed as she waved her arms.

"I believe that is a given, Uraraka-kun," Iida added.

As the trio of Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida walked away towards the station, Jiro and Sato sent him a smile and made to follow them. "Take care on your way home Emiya!" Jiro regarded.

Sato chuckled, "See you later, Emiya!"

As they left, Shirou turned back to face the cafe, noticing the waiter Setsuno staring at the group as they left. "It must be nice to have friends like that…" He mumbled.

Shirou was sure that he wasn't supposed to hear that, and ignored it entirely. He wouldn't forget about it however, there was something odd with the waiter, and Archer had something to do with it.

"Hey," Setsuno chimed, "You know Aniki right?"

 _Aniki?_

"Do you mean Archer- I mean Farran?" Shirou said, ignoring his minor slip up.

"Yes, by Aniki I meant Farran-san. Do you know anything that could help me serve him better?"

"... Serve?" Shirou muttered in minor disbelief.

"Not in a weird way, I promise!" He forced out, his usual stutter having faded somewhat. "I owe Aniki, a lot in fact. When there was no one there he helped me, gave me a job when no one else would consider it… If there's anything that you could tell me that would help me assist him, please let me know."

As Shirou processed his words, he could not help the smile grow on his face.

"I don't know a lot about Ar-Farran's personal preferences…" Despite being the same person on a semi-spiritual level. If he was still anything like Shirou, he'd enjoy everything there was about running a cafe, so there was not much that Setsuno could actually help with. "… All you need to do is work hard. Nothing else would matter… probably."

One could never be too sure with Archer.

Setsuno smiled wryly, "That's… a very vague answer." He said.

"It's the best I can give you, sorry."

He shook his head, "It's fine. Be careful on your way home dear customer."

Shirou watched as Setsuno went back into the cafe, the door closing in tune with the doorbell's soft chime.

 _Archer just couldn't stop himself from saving someone, could he?_

* * *

Yu sighed.

She looked at all the documents laid out before her. Normally her secretary would deal with it all, but his wife was pregnant and needed attention. Yu could understand. His family came first above all, which was why she was working on these documents in the comfort of her home, waiting for Shirou to return.

She really hoped that Aizawa didn't expel him like last year's class. That was a huge controversy that the media wouldn't stop talking about for weeks. U.A. wouldn't want to risk such negative media attention again so maybe he held off on that punishment?

Shirou didn't come home early so it was likely he wasn't expelled, but he was also late, which meant either Aizawa is extending lessons for the first day, or Shirou found himself busy.

She hoped that he was busy with friends, it was nearing six pm and Yu didn't want any unsavory individuals approaching him. Though knowing her son, he could simply use his swords to scare them off or something.

Her eyes wandered across the documents. There was an invitation to a television show, another invitation to a meeting with the single mother's union, and a notice of several escaped criminals that would most likely head to Musutafu.

The criminal issue was first to deal with obviously, but they were known to be reckless so it should be a manner of time before they were all caught. The only problem was the sheer amount of escapees. All of them having seemingly disappeared from their cells like magic.

Yu didn't want to consider the prospect that they had outside help that couldn't be detected through current methods, because if that were true then her job would end up a whole lot harder.

Since she couldn't do anything about it right now, she moved on to the invitations. She was definitely going to the television talk show, she hadn't gone on one of those before so it would be nice to get her face out there – and not just her rear – in order to increase her fan base.

The single mother's union meeting though? Maybe at a later date. The escaped convicts took first priority, maybe after they were all caught she could join the meetings.

Stress crept up into her forehead, prompting her to take off her hero mask and set it on the dining table. Maybe she should get changed? It wouldn't do good to greet her son back while still in her work outfit.

 _Not that he'd care actually._

Yu stretched her arms above her head with a soft groan of exertion. She blinked as she heard the sound of her locked door opening. Yu smiled as she saw who it was.

Looks like she wouldn't get the chance to change before he got home.

"Welcome home, Shirou."

"I'm home, Yu," He reciprocated, "I've got some cake for you if you want some."

Yu blinked.

"Cake? Where in the world did you get cake?" She asked, "Weren't you supposed to be at school?"

 _I swear to God Aizawa if you expelled him I'll–_

"Some of my classmates invited me out to a recently opened cafe," He answered, "They had a good discount so I took the opportunity."

Oh, so he wasn't expelled. That was good.

If there was something Shirou was weak too, it was discounted products. Yu could still remember when Shirou had used his budgeting skills to fill their fridge with just a meager amount of yen. It was a talent that she was thankful Shirou had.

"Really? I guess a slice couldn't hurt…" She muttered as Shirou placed the cake on their dining table. "In other news, had any fun with your new friends?"

Shirou nodded as he sat down, "They're good people. Their personalities and quirks differ greatly but they'd make good heroes."

That wasn't the answer she was looking for, "What I meant was, are there any there that you would consider friends?"

She wanted to know if he found real friends, it was something that she read about. Some adopted children have problems interacting with other kids and have a hard time making friends because of this.

Shirou wasn't a normal adopted kid, so maybe he didn't have that issue, but she still wanted to see if he did. Plus the book was the highest rated one about adopted children on the single mother's union website, so there's credibility to it!

"I guess I would consider them all my friends. One of them even gave us all another coupon in case we wanted to go again." He said, secretly thinking back to how he managed to befriend even Matou Shinji, "I'd enjoy spending classes with them all."

Yu smiled at the news, "That's good news, Shirou."

Normal Yu would've thrown a lewd joke in there somewhere, but since he was now her son, she wouldn't do that. It would be _too_ indecent.

"How was your day? No problems or arguments?" The book also mentioned about asking about how their day went, so there was that.

"I wouldn't say there were no problems…" He said trailing off, "I think we had a rough start in the morning. Aizawa didn't exactly give a good first impression."

Yu grimaced, "What did he do this time? Make you all talk about your likes and dislikes? A speech about your dreams or goals?"

"Threatened us all with expulsion if we failed all the extra tests he gave us."

 _Damn it Aizawa!_

"... No one was expelled, right?" She hesitantly asked. The school's reputation will take a nose dive if someone was expelled. She could see the headlines now, 'U.A. the school where Expulsion happens once a year!'– As an alumni of U.A, it hurt just thinking about it!

"Thankfully, no." He admitted, "A few close calls, but we all made it through in the end. He said it was a rational lie to bring out our best."

 _Bullshit._

If someone failed, he would've dragged the poor kid out with his bandages and out onto the street. He did it before with his last class.

"T-that's great!" Yu exclaimed, but now was searching for a way to change the topic away from Aizawa. "What about after school? How was your cafe adventure with your classmates?"

Yu didn't think it was possible to see Shirou pout with a grimace, but lo and behold he was… and he didn't even notice he was doing it.

"It was… fine. There were no issues at all. The staff there were nice. They served good food and had good service. Everyone enjoyed their time."

… _Shirou was hiding something._

After months of living with him, Yu thought that she was pretty good at reading his thoughts – not that good if she were honest – so when his voice trailed off for a second she grew slightly worried.

Luckily, one didn't become a great Pro Hero without a poker face to match _–media mosquitoes–_ so she didn't let her worry show.

"That's great, maybe we could go there together sometime?" Yu suggested.

A slight twitch on Shirou's lip before he replied, "No I don't think we should. The prices aren't that affordable without another coupon, they only work for one person each. I also need to focus on my studies to pass the hero course."

… A Shirou that was concealing information, was a Shirou that she was _quickly_ growing annoyed with.

"Okay then, after an hour we'll eat dinner and sleep. I'm feeling good about my cooking skills today!" Yu said, ignoring the fact that she didn't practice cooking whatsoever after the morning critique. "We don't want you to be sleepy tomorrow now do we?"

Shirou smiled in exasperation and nodded. "Okay Yu, when I'm done with the shower you can go ahead and use it."

He left his seat and went into his room, most likely to drop off his bag. Yu noticed a flicker to her left and found a folded and mildly crumpled sheet of paper.

She picked it up and read the name on it.

 _Cafe d'Acier._

So this was the cafe that Shirou went to…? The cafe that he was hesitant to return to? The cafe that had high prices that even Shirou wouldn't consider?

Maybe she could 'look over' the place, to 'scout for villain activity' or something…

Totally because she wanted another slice of this sinful strawberry shortcake… She wouldn't stoop down to that level!

… Maybe she should let Shirou cook dinner instead?

* * *

 **A/N: So I know I said this was coming out mid-March but now its late-March, almost next to a new month, and I have a good reason.**

 **This month was very busy for me IRL. I had to deal with my graduation, signing clearances, attend my sister's graduation, and also I had to deal with a two-day trip that was mandatory for my school. I'll try to not be late again, but just in case I promise the next chapter to be out next month on late-April.**

 **Getting that out of the way, the winner(s) of the poll has been decided. Out of 226 unique votes (some of which only voted once for some reason)**

 _ **Power Rangers: Kaleido Force! (Fate x Power Rangers) with 28 voters at 7%**_

 _ **Fate Zero: War of Kings (Fate x Anime Xovers) with 39 voters at 10%**_

 _ **Beacon Duel Academy (RWBY x Yu-Gi-Oh) with 46 voters at 12%**_

 _ **An Accelerated Sword (Fate x Accel World) with 121 voters at 31%**_

 **And the winner is...**

 _ **Bladed Horizon (Fate x Log Horizon) with 145 voters at 38% of all total votes!**_

 **I'll start writing the first two chapters of Bladed Horizon, you can expect to read that maybe mid-April, if not then at the same time as the next chapter of My Ideal Academia. Perhaps I'll write out An Accelerated Sword if I have time since it was tied with Bladed Horizon for the majority of the runtime, but it'd be an inconsistent side project.**

 **Actually, when looking at my timetable, next chapter(s) will probably be delayed, due to the new FGO lost belt chapter coming out (finally). In addition, I'll be working hard to get into the college I want, but that's all personal so don't worry about it.**

 **Next chapter should cover the All Might class battle arc. I have a wonderful idea to make it work with 21 classmates in Class A, just wait.**

 **Review the chapter for anything I missed or done wrong. I feel like I've done the interaction between Archer and Shirou injustice. In my defense, I have no idea how to write these two conversing on a cordial level or how this interaction was supposed to go. I have an idea of what I wanted Archer to do in this story, but I didn't know how to do it. One of those things that you think is a grand idea only to discover that you have barely an idea on how to pull it off.**

 **Truly frustrating. If I could rewrite it better than I would, but this was as best as I could make it after days of rewriting it.**

 **Until late-April I guess?**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: I completely FUCKING forgot! SHIT! I've committed an injustice!**

 **Alex Kellar, thank you for the fanart you submitted weeks ago! I had meant to make a public thanks mid march, but the busy month distracted me. I can't believe I forgot.**

 **If you all want to see his fanart, you're going to have to google Alex Kellar. Why don't I link it? Because this Fanfiction site won't let me. Hopefully, the link on my profile actually works, because if not then I'm going to be sad.**

 **Unfortunately, in advance, I'll say I cannot make that piece of art be my cover. It's not that I don't like it, but it's because I've already promised someone else that they would get that honor. Until then, this link for the fanart will remain on my profile.**


	15. Chapter 14 - A Sword Lying in Wait

**Chapter 14**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

Shirou admired the fact that some of the classes in U.A. focused on more generalized subjects like English, Science, and Math.

Not many people saw the value in these three subjects, which was understandable as they've been immersed in these subjects for a majority of their life, but if taken to heart it could help them out in their careers in the long run.

English would be necessary if they were forced to be a hero in a foreign country. While Shirou was not a hundred percent sure on what the other subjects could be used for, but maybe there would be a villain that needs to be defeated by such things.

Shirou completed the assigned work he was given without much hardship, the questions from all the previously mentioned subjects were ones that he had encountered before in Fuyuki, so he was able to leave class early and to the cafeteria.

He was followed by Jiro and Sato, both of which decided to create a little clique between themselves with Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida joining if they weren't busy with their own conversations. Admittedly, Shirou didn't really converse as much as he should when they were talking, it was more Sato and Jiro giving subtle prompts for him to reply.

It wasn't that he was socially awkward by any means, he wouldn't have gotten together with Rin otherwise, but in a way, he felt that there wasn't much to talk about.

On a side note, he had learned Sato baked when he wasn't busy. That would explain his admiration for the menu items at Cafe d'Acier. Perhaps Shirou could exchange recipe's with the amateur baker when they weren't too busy? Yu would probably encourage that.

On another side note, he learned that the cafeteria food was cooked by a Professional Hero named Lunch Rush. Shirou himself had tried some of his dishes – courtesy of Jiro and Sato bringing it over – and found himself pleasantly surprised, it wasn't every day he found someone that could cook nearly as well as he did.

Nearly. He still had pride in his cooking to maintain.

After lunch had occurred, the afternoon dragged in. The standard class curriculum had ended and it was time for the course classes to take hold. Namely, Hero Basics Training.

It would certainly be an interesting class, Shirou would be glad to learn the basics that were cultivated by time. Several generations of heroism could not have gone past without someone at least writing down such knowledge.

So, as Shirou sat at the back of the classroom in his seat, he relaxed and awaited the coming session–

"I am…"

Shirou's eyes burst open as an incredibly familiar scent wafted towards him.

It was similar to yesterday yet supremely stronger and the scent came from the front door. Something familiar was entering the class. The door slid open to reveal…

'Plus Ultra!'

It was him. This world's number one Professional Hero.

All Might.

… and he was…

"… Coming through the door like a normal person!"

… Shirou couldn't really describe it, but he could say that Saber would have a gobsmacked expression at the entrance.

"It's All Might!"

"Wow, he really is a teacher!"

"That's a costume from the Silver Age, isn't it?"

All Might stepped onto the stage jovially and faced them all with a smile. Shirou could not help but note the aura he exuded. Once more he was reminded of Saber's unique charisma, this wasn't quite at the same level but somewhat similar in a way.

"I teach Hero Basics Training." All Might said, "It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn basics of being a Hero. Your grades depend more on this subject! Let's get right into it! This is what we'll do today…!"

He dragged a card out of his costume. Upon reading it, Shirou felt slight unease creep into him.

The card said 'Battle'.

"Combat Training! –and to go with that are these!" All Might declared, throwing a finger to the plain and empty wall. As if on queue, the wall near the blackboard extended out, It revealed suitcases with neon green numbers upon them.

It was over the top, yet again signifying the budget that the government had for Hero Courses in general. "These are costumes made based on your Quirk Registrations and requests you sent in before school started."

From that Shirou heard a collective cheer from his classmates, all of them surely excited to don the cloth. Shirou himself was not as excited, but he could see what made it so exciting to these teenagers. Up until now, they must have only daydreamed wearing such things. Shirou can relate to seeing such fantasies become a reality.

"After you change, gather in the Ground Beta!"

""Yes, sir!""

Once All Might left the classroom to get a head start, Shirou grabbed his suitcase, number 21, and sat down at his desk. He unlatched the locks and took in his costume–

 _What in the…_

After a few moments of silence, Shirou sighed in resignation.

 _Damn it Yu._

* * *

Yu was felt a shiver run down her spine.

It wasn't from stage-jitters or anything like that, but it had far more to do with the object of her interests right around the corner.

Cafe d'Acier, the place that Shirou was hesitant to talk about.

Yu felt like it was her first mission as a hero all over again, but with none of the excitement or adrenaline. She didn't like it, not one bit. She was sure that after a few seconds she'd be fine to walk in!

… _Or maybe minutes…_

Shirou was not good at keeping secrets, Yu could always see when he did. She naturally never called him out on such things, the hand guide did say that it was best for them to open up naturally.

So instead, she opted to get her answers manually… by a good old-fashioned stakeout!

Yu froze as the cafe bell unexpectedly rang, allowing a young man to exit in a rush. Shit! Was she spotted!?

"Where was the grocery store, Fuyumi-san!?"

"Down the street leading to U.A!" She saw a woman call, she wore a form-fitting waitress gown which went well with her hair. Then again, black and white go with anything. "Don't forget the eggs!"

"Got it!"

 _Oh good, she wasn't looking at her._

After a few moments of silence passed, Yu sent a glance to the young waitress… who was staring right at her…

 _Crap._

"Um… are you a customer?"

Yu coughed out the nervousness within her. "Y-yes. I heard about the cafe and wanted to try the coffee."

"I see!" The waitress nodded with a smile and then gestured within the cafe, "If you could follow me, I will lead you to your seats!"

Hesitantly, Yu followed her into the cafe.

She lost her frown upon entering, the nervousness that had been acting up having slowly faded away into wonderment. The cafe looked great, felt homely, and– _what in the world was that smell!?_

"Your seat is beside the window to your left," The waitress said, "I'll be back with your menu shortly."

Yu took her seat, once the waitress was out of sight, she took a look around the cafe once more. No one else was inside, but that could be chalked up to the fact that it was noon, and no one really wanted coffee in the noon. Most people would either be at a restaurant eating lunch or at work like they should be.

It was fine! Yu's sidekick would call her as soon as a villain was spotted so no need to worry!

"I'm sorry for the wait," A voice replied, but this time it didn't belong to the waitress.

Yu turned to see a tall man, hair aged gray yet his face appeared somewhat young, standing before their table with a menu at hand.

Well, he definitely looked professional enough to be the owner.

"My name is Farran, the owner of this cafe." He said, shocking her as he handed them the menu. "If you are wondering why I am here instead of our waitress, she is busy with a phone call from her father."

"I-I see,"

She knew that family came first, it was something that she had all but memorized in her parenting handbooks. The cafe was probably understaffed too, seeing as one of the presumed waiters had run off to buy eggs.

She was perceptive enough to notice that, you don't get to become a Pro Hero without that kind of insight.

Nothing overly suspicious about the place so far…

Yu began to idly browse the menu. There was a decent selection of cakes – remembering the strawberry shortcake from before – but nothing else really took her attention… Maybe the parfait?

"Excuse me for interrupting you ma'am," The owner said, "But are you a Professional Hero?"

Yu froze.

How could he have known? She was wearing a disguise for crying out loud! She had even left her Hero mask that normally hid her features – which she wasn't wearing today – how could he have figured it out!?

Was he one of those 'stalkers'!? Was this why Shirou didn't want to tell her?!

Yu prepared to rush out of the cafe–

"I can see the panic that you seem to have," He said, "Understandable, however, it is unwarranted. You have no need to be worried. I simply saw your Hero License."

He sent a quick glance downwards.

Sure enough, Yu found her license, which she had linked up to a chain, dangling out of her pocket.

Yu wanted to smack herself for letting it dangle out in the open, she really did, but making an order took priority. She couldn't afford to look undignified in a public setting anymore.

She let out an audible sigh. Going incognito wasn't going to work. Yu wondered how Shirou was doing? Hopefully, he was having a better day than she was, as she was quickly growing annoyed at the not so hidden smirk on the man's mouth.

 _I wish 'bami-chan was here._

* * *

Shirou was not having a good day. While all the other students had already changed completely, he was stuck staring at the… irritating costume folded into his suitcase.

 _Yu, this was somehow your fault._

All Shirou could do was sigh in frustration.

It wasn't that the manufacturers got any details wrong and it wasn't that somehow it didn't fit on him. It wasn't even the fact that some parts ended up becoming metal instead of the cloth he drew. It was the fact that it wasn't the shade of black he had been intending to go for… it had an added red shade.

It was red and black.

Just like Archer.

Okay, it wasn't exactly like Archer, but it came close.

If Rin were here, she'd be laughing until her stomach collapsed on itself. Hell, even Saber would've cracked a smile at this. Archer himself would have been horrified.

No, scratch that. Archer was in this world with him. If he ever saw him wearing this, then the wrought iron magus would make his distaste known with a pair of blades embedded in Shirou's back.

He needed to get it recolored as soon as possible. Preferably now, but since he needed to wear the costume for the upcoming class, he sucked up his irritation at the costume and dragged the cloth out of the briefcase.

It was just going to be for a day.

He could handle wearing red and black for a day.

"That looks good on you, Emiya!"

… Shirou swore that he was getting this recolored, even if he was going to do it himself.

* * *

All Might.

The number one Professional Hero of Modern Japan, possibly even the world itself. It was such a grand title, one that would surely be remembered in the echoes of history.

… Not that Yagi Toshinori ever saw the true power that his title had. He knew of the influence his words would have, hence why he usually planned what he would say beforehand in a speech. He had political power as well, not that he himself sought to use it. Above all, he inspired others to follow him as a symbol of peace.

Which was why it was nerve-wracking that he stood in Ground Beta with only a handful of notes prepared, mostly due to the fact that Aizawa dropped a huge bomb on him on his way to the training zone.

 _Calm down Toshinori! You can handle the media just fine! If you can handle that, you can handle teaching a class of young aspiring heroes!_

He could practically hear his old mentor screaming those words down his ear.

Truly, Toshinori wished that Aizawa – or any of his fellow teachers for the matter – would have told him that the lesson plan changed drastically! They didn't even send him a message! He was woefully underprepared, normally he'd have more than a slip of notes but the apparent inclusion Aizawa and the rest had brought on wasn't worthy of telling him.

It wouldn't change much they said, it was nothing that he couldn't handle they said. He was human too! He was prepared to handle a class of twenty or so students!

Not a class with students numbering well over Forty!

The number may not seem fantastical – considering he gave a speech to a whole banquet of newbie heroes several months ago – but he had been expecting those numbers!

 _Calm down Toshinori… You handled more people before, it's going to be fine._

Footsteps echoed from the gateway behind him. Toshinori steeled his nerves and forced his worry away. A fearless smile donned over his face as he gazed at the gateway, silhouettes of his students taking shape.

He would not let the symbol of peace be seen vulnerable.

"They say the clothes make the man, young men and ladies," Toshinori started, remembering the prepared notes. "Be fully aware, from now on you are heroes!"

Those were the first words he planned to utter as he took in the view of all the students. Some wearing modern costumes that fit the 'cool' teenage view, some opting to follow ancestry, and a few keeping it simple with a cloak or a simple karate gi.

"They aren't heroes yet, All Might-san."

Toshinori did not let his smile falter, as hard as it was at the blunt reply.

At least he was not dealing with both classes alone.

"Come now, Aizawa-kun." Toshinori replied, "The young men and ladies have already proven themselves, we must take pride in the fact that we are teaching them!"

The drowsy-eyed teacher walked up to him, a clipboard ready at his fingertips. "Until they earn their licenses, that remains to be seen."

"Hey hey! What's going on here?!"

Toshinori's gaze was dragged by a grey-haired youth with substantial eyelashes, who was staring at them in disbelief. "What is the matter, young one?" Toshinori asked.

"Why are all of Class A in their Hero outfits, All Might-san!?" He asked with enthusiasm. "Only me, Kendo, and Neito have our costumes!"

Toshinori was initially confused but turned his gaze towards the latter half of the group seemingly divided from Class A. The boy who spoke wore steel boots complemented with a metal harness, exposing the majority of his upper body.

The other two he was referring to wore both a semi-traditional martial artist's gown and a butler's outfit, which Toshinori didn't judge by any means.

"Calm yourself Tetsutetsu." Aizawa rebuked, "Unfortunately, the manufacturing companies that we sent your designs to haven't complied yet. There was a poisonous villain attack in the nearby forest so the area around it was closed down for quarantine. This includes your manufacturer."

Toshinori remembered that. It had only happened a week ago and there were still a few pockets of volatile and poisonous sludge left in the area. It was fortunate that he was there as damage control. If he had been a second too late then the poisonous toxins would have spread too far into populated regions.

"What does that have to do with our clothing?" The grey-haired teen – Tetsutetsu, Toshinori reminded himself – asked.

"Unless you want everyone in your class to risk being poisoned, then, by all means, go there after class ends and see how that turns out." Aizawa pointed out, "We at U.A. would like to avoid a lawsuit from your parents if possible."

Most of the students flinched at the blunt tone. It was true that the poison itself was barely lethal, but it was not something that the school would willingly risk lawsuits for. Ignoring the fact that Aizawa himself seemed to cause a few scandals in his time as a teacher.

Toshinori wondered how he kept his job as a teacher after that fiasco.

"Well well, why don't we put that aside for now?" Toshinori said, trying to bring back some livelihood to the student body, "Is everyone from Class A and Class B here? The sooner we can start, the sooner we can have fun, you zygotes!"

It wasn't his original intended speech, but it was close enough.

* * *

Shirou sighed for what seemed like the tenth time today.

The costume had fit perfectly, as much as it had irritated him to admit, everything he had asked for was attached. The steel tipped boots, the wrist guards, and even the fingerless gloves…

… but he still couldn't get over the fact that he looked like a mini Archer.

Aizawa had sent him an odd calculating look. That was all the attention his costume really received. The costumes that other students had were much more eye-catching in Shirou's opinion, thankfully.

He had chosen practicality for his costume design, aesthetics would come into play later… which was why the sole black would have been better–

He was really irritated with his costume to put it lightly.

At least his costume still had the design he put forth.

Simple and comfortable pants paired with iron-tipped boots, made to maneuver is almost any field. A single bracer for his right arm and a shoulder guard for the same arm, to block or parry blows when he wouldn't be able to trace. His other arm only had bandages, for some reason because Yu thought it looked cool, but under it was a standard archery wrist guard, which prevents arrows from scratching his wrists in the heat of battle.

He also had a utility belt which held medical items like pain relievers and bandages, in case that he met someone who was bleeding out so that he could save them. There were little swords could do to stop someone from bleeding out. Finally, he had a device that wrapped around his neck all the way up to his chin, it was a simple shock absorber, not much needed to be said about it.

"The hero course is the best."

Shirou did not notice what the implications of that meant.

What he did notice, however, was the fact that their teacher All Might was sending Midoriya a not so subtle stare. For what reason, Shirou couldn't fathom.

He also noticed Sato was smiling admirably at All Might, which made sense to Shirou. They had similar quirks, mainly simple power-augmentation…

… And it seemed that Jiro made Kaminari depressed, surprising.

All Might puffed his chest out, "Now, it's time for combat training!"

"Sir!" Iida asked, "This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?"

"Valid question," Aizawa replied, "But no we're not. It's too much of a pain to explain so All Might-san will tell you."

"Throwing someone under the bus isn't nice, Aizawa-kun." All Might berated, "Anyway, as Aizawa-kun said we're not having urban battles as the entrance exam."

"So what are we facing?!" Tetsutetsu interjected.

"I'll be getting to that in a bit, young Tetsutetsu!" All Might exclaimed, "Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate." He began explaining, "Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals– In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows!"

He glanced at all the students, "For this class, you'll be split into villains and heroes and fight in indoor battles."

"Without basic training?" The frog-like girl asked.

All Might shook his head, "This is a real battle to understand those basics–!"

"In a controlled environment where we dictate what is acceptable," Aizawa interjected, momentarily stumping All Might it seems.

"H-However, the key in the battles this time is that there are no robots to defeat." He continued.

The continue didn't last long as students from both Class A and Class B began to bombard them with questions. Despite there being two of them, they would not be able to handle the onslaught of questions.

Aizawa looked like he was having a migraine, while All Might clenched his fist in silent determination. "! I'll answer all your questions! Now listen here."

Shirou did not balk at the fact that All Might dragged out a piece of paper, no doubt that it had most of the information to be relayed.

"The situation you all will reenact is that the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their hideout. The heroes are trying to dispose of that. The heroes need to catch the villains or get the nuclear weapon back in the allotted time. The villains need to protect the nuclear weapon for the whole time or catch the heroes. Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!"

"They're being decided so haphazardly!?" Iida asked scandalized.

"P-Pros often have to create makeshift teams with heroes from other agencies, so maybe that's why?" Midoriya explained, loud enough for Shirou to hear.

Shirou liked the method. It helped everyone get prepared for the randomness of the real world.

As Iida apologized, All Might laughed to himself, "It's fine. Let's do this quickly!"

"But wait a moment sir!" A ginger from Class B called. She had a single ponytail falling from her left. "How many people will be in a team? You didn't mention it before."

"Three," Aizawa answered. "Three on three match battles. Three villains, three heroes, and a total of seven battles. Both classes of twenty-one students are added together into a pool of forty-two. We divided you all by three, leaving a total of fourteen teams. Divide that by two and we have seven matches to go through this afternoon."

"With Class A?" The blonde wearing a tuxedo muttered, a slight frown on his face.

"Yes. As Midoriya explained, this is to help you prepare for haphazard team-ups in the future," Aizawa said. "In addition, this will aid in building inter-class relations for future activities. Having isolation between classes is irrational when you are all training to serve the common good."

Students exchanged glances at one another, some excited and some nervous. They had time to learn about their own classmates but from an entirely separate class? Shirou himself admittedly felt nothing to it, but he could see what the others would feel.

Shirou just hoped that he would be teamed with people he'd work well with. It wouldn't matter if they were from Class A or from Class B, so long as they were agreeable.

Aizawa and All Might were standing together as they drew lots from a box, numbers like 7-A or 20-B were written there. The number must represent the student, for example, Shirou was number 21, and the letter is the class they're from.

It took a bit over a few minutes but the teams were decided. He was apart of team K, whose other members were both of Class B. One of them was named Shishida Jurota, a burly teen who seemed to be covered in fur. His other teammate was far more recognizable.

The teams had splintered off into groups to get to know each other better. Shirou had walked over to his two teammates. He greeted the recognizable face with black hair and a stoic expression.

"Hello, Kodai-san. It's been a while."

The somewhat shorter girl blinked and turned away from their shared teammate with somewhat widened eyes. Not much emotion was truly shown there, but he could truly see how surprised she was.

"Emiya-san?" She murmured in surprise, "You actually passed?"

"You know him, Kodai-san?" Shishida asked, raising his slightly out of place glasses a bit to view him better.

Kodai nodded, "Yes, he helped me in the entrance exam."

Shirou smiled wryly, "I wouldn't say help…"

"Fine then." She muttered, "He saved me in the entrance exam."

 _That wasn't much better._

"Brats! Keep your heads in the game and focus on the activity!" Aizawa called, smacking his clipboard for attention. "You can get to know your teammates later, we need to get the first round started."

All Might nodded, both of his hands stuffed in black and white boxes labeled VILLAIN and HERO respectively. "Aizawa is right! So let's get to the part you all are waiting for. The first teams to fight will be…"

He rose his hands out, holding two balls. "These guys!" He held out a black D ball and a white A ball. "Team A will be the heroes, and Team D will be the villains! Everyone else, head towards the monitor room."

It did not take long for Shirou to draw a connection between those two teams.

Team A had Midoriya, someone who Aizawa tested personally, Uraraka, whose quirk Shirou still struggled to fully grasp, and Hagakure Toru, a girl that had another quirk that Shirou did not feel comfortable seeing.

And the other team had Iida, someone that reminded him of Issei, a Class B girl named Kendo Itsuka, wearing a martial artist's gown as a costume, and last of all…

Bakugo, the teen that had a bundle of emotions sealed in a highly volatile bottle.

That bottle's contents were about to be spilled all over Midoriya's team.

This wasn't good. If he were on the same team then he would have done everything to try to stop the conflict from happening. However, he was on team K, figuratively miles away from the letter.

"Something the matter, Emiya-san?" Kodai asked as the rest of the students made to follow the teachers into the monitor room to watch the match.

Shirou spared a glance to the two teens, sending each other hardened stares.

"No, it's nothing Kodai-san…" He muttered as he walked to the monitor room.

The room was dark, with the only source of light being the multiple screens that were displaying the ongoing match. It was a tad bit crowded in the room, but luckily since every student wanted a good view of the screen, they pushed themselves so close to it that the area near the back was practically empty.

Shirou took his place near the back, with the same reasoning as usual. He could see just fine from the back, so he allowed everyone else to crowd the front to see. His teammates, Kodai and Shishida, had taken a middle ground. They were at the back of the crowd, but Kodai just grew a pebble under her to get a better view and Shishida was already taller than the rest due to his quirk.

Shirou could only hope that this first battle didn't have anyone seriously harmed. For both Midoriya's and Bakugo's sake.

"By the way Emiya-san," Kodai added, "Nice costume, it suits you."

Shirou tried to not let his agitation show.

* * *

Shirou's hopes were dashed as soon as the match had begun. Bakugo had left his teammates and began hunting down Midoriya, leaving Iida and Kendo Itsuka alone to guard the 'weapon'.

Luckily Kendou's quirk, aptly named Large Fists were able to pretty much cover the majority of the weapon in a protective grasp. This left Iida total freedom to roam the room that they guarded.

This ultimately left Midoriya's team at a disadvantage. Their only heavy hitter being the nervous glass cannon, which left Uraraka and Hagakure on their own to deal with both of Bakugo's remaining teammates after Midoriya had prompted them both to flee.

He could not fault Midoriya's performance against Bakugo though. He had managed to counter the first attack and somewhat controlled the fight… that was until Bakugo, which many of the Class B students were thankful that they didn't end up facing the pale blond bruiser, blasted a literal hole into the arena.

Aizawa nearly called the match over, but for some reason, All Might had decided that it was still salvageable and let the match continue. Shirou didn't know what was going through the number one professional hero's mind at that moment, but he decided to trust in it.

The fight between them was nothing less than a public execution. Midoriya was fatigued from surviving the concentrated explosion whereas Bakugo was ripe and ready to brawl.

While that was happening, both Hagakure and Uraraka, despite having snuck into the room where the weapon was located, got caught in the open. This prompted Iida to deal with them while Kendou stayed in the back to protect the weapon. Iida was capable enough to keep them both busy.

Through determined planning or perhaps sheer luck, Midoriya had gone on a suicidal tangent and allowed himself to take the full brunt of Bakugo's searing explosion in order for his own attack to break the building through multiple floors, directly under where Kendou had been standing.

Shirou had to restrain himself from rushing out the room and personally interfering with the match.

Kendou had lost her grip on the weapon and fell, but luckily she grabbed onto a ledge in time so she wasn't harmed much.

However, Iida had been far too worried about his fallen ally. He made a mistake, hesitated for a split second to choose between leaping to try to save Kendou or protect the weapon.

That split second was capitalized on when Uraraka took action and gathered the floating rubble and assaulted him in an impromptu barrage. Hagakure, who had latched onto Uraraka, leaped and captured the weapon with all enemies distracted.

It was a perfect victory result-wise.

A few students seemed to be uneasy at watching the slumped form of Midoriya against the concrete, one arm shattered and shredded from muscle tear while the other burnt to a charred steak.

As All Might left the room, Shirou made to follow his example and take Midoriya to the infirmary himself–

"Where are you going brat?" Aizawa called, "Students aren't allowed to leave until it's their turn to battle."

"I need to get Midoriya to the infirmary." Shirou argued back, "He has serious injuries. The longer he doesn't receive medical attention, the worse his injuries will be."

"Do you think we don't know that?" He muttered, aggravated. He ignored the students that had fallen silent and tapped a button on the control panel before him. It revealed a pair of two small and short robots already picking him. "The situation is under control, the two medical droids will gently take him to the infirmary. You have no reason to leave."

Shirou grit his teeth but nodded as All Might stepped back into the room. He could agree with the logic, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Shirou also ignored Aizawa muttering something about altruistic brats.

"Are you friends with him?" Kodai asked, "You seem awfully worried for his safety."

"Of course I'd be worried." Shirou claimed, "It's only natural to be worried about another person."

Kodai might have chosen to say something, but it seemed that she held her tongue and faced away. Shishida gave him a mild discerning stare. Since Shirou he didn't really have a background of his personality, that stare could have meant anything.

Bakugo stepped back into the room, but instead of joining his assigned team near the front, he took to the back corner, the far opposite of where Shirou was. His eyes were downcast and his hands seem to lack the usual clenching that he'd have.

Something had to have happened in the match. What exactly did happen, Shirou didn't know. From the lessons that they shared, Shirou knew that a silent Bakugo isn't one that felt natural.

"... Well, even if I say that... the MVP for this battle were both young Hagakure and young Kendou!"

Shirou felt that he missed a majority of the discussion.

"W-why is that so, sensei?" A young girl from Class B asked, whose head was reminiscent of a mushroom.

"Simple, can anyone explain?"

It was at this time that Yaoyorozu rose her hand.

"From the process of elimination, Bakugo-san and Midoriya-san are out, both having damaged the building's structural integrity." She said, "In addition, Bakugo acted more on a personal grudge than as a villain in the context of the exercise. Midoriya-san did not take into account his self-inflicted damage.

She continued even as she was receiving a glare from Bakugo, but it felt half-hearted, as if he was focused on another matter entirely. "In a real-life scenario, Midoriya-san would have been at death's door. Uraraka-san had improvised her distraction against Iida-san, which could have damaged the weapon and moot the point of the exercise. Both Kendou and Iida acted accordingly when Uraraka-san and Hagakure-san appeared… however Iida hesitated for a few seconds on what to do, which gave the heroes the victory. In the context of this training, Iida-san should not have cared about his ally as he was a villain, also eliminating him."

"T-That's correct." All Might muttered, ignoring the snicker that Aizawa gave away.

Shirou found himself agreeing with most of it… however, he could not fault on Iida hesitating on whether to save an ally or the mission. Shirou himself would have abandoned the mission in favor of saving an ally.

He would have failed the exercise if put in that position, but he was completely alright with that thought.

"Next match, Team I and Team B," Aizawa called, holding the black and white balls respectively. "On your way out, make sure to use the building next to the one that Team D and Team A wrecked."

This time the villain team had Ojiro – a teen from his class whose quirk gave him a sturdy tail – A somewhat plain looking boy named Kaibara Sen, and a girl whose hair comprised of thorny stems, named Shiozaki Ibara.

As for the Hero team…

It was safe to say that the other two members probably didn't even matter.

There was shock and surprise in the room, palpable when Todoroki walked into the building.

His two teammates, Tetsutetsu and Mezo Shouji, could do nothing as – no, they were told to do nothing – as Ice enveloped the building. He walked in alone and made to grab the weapon.

The two from Class B of the villain team tried to interfere, Shiozaki sending her vines and other overgrowths to both protect the weapon and tackle Todoroki… but those vines froze and crumbled, along with the majority of her hair, which prevented her from making any more attacks.

Both Kaibara and Ojiro, who had both tried to physically rush Todoroki in the midst of it, were frozen completely in a solid block of ice with only their heads popping out for breathing.

Completely incapacitated, Aizawa called the match with All Might's approval.

A perfect win, not just in results, but in practice.

Possible allied casualties numbered at zero, risks taken were zero, and if it was a real life-or-death match, everyone in the villain team would have died.

If he were in the building when the ice enveloped, he would have needed to use a fire-related noble phantasm… Which was a route he would rather not take.

He was hiding his abilities. Using normal swords and etc was the only thing acceptable for the time being. He would use such noble phantasms when, and only when, lives were at stake.

Besides… using noble phantasms on teenagers, even super-powered ones, was close to overkill. He didn't want his fellow classmates seriously harmed or maimed by accident.

It'd be better if he just sniped Todoroki from far away or something similar, preferably with non-lethal weaponry… if his reality marble had any of those. Maybe he could make Torashinai into an arrow like Archer did with Caladbolg?

"I trust that there is no need to declare an MVP?" Aizawa said to the students. He received silence in return. Aizawa snorted and rummaged through the balls and picking up two. "Up next, we have Team J and Team H…"

A tug on his uniform dragged his attention.

Shirou turned away from Aizawa, who was pushing the called students out of the room to hasten the activity and focused on the one who took his attention, Kodai Yui.

"Yes, Kodai-san?"

She looked around for a bit, feeling relieved somewhat that there was no one near them, Shishida having moved further up to get a better view. Once she took a soft breath, she hardened her eyes.

"Remember back in the entrance exam?" She started, "When you jumped in and helped me?"

 _Was she still bothered about that?_ Shirou nodded at her.

"You said that there was nothing else you could have done. The only choice you had was to help out, correct?" She pressed.

Once more, Shirou nodded.

"Why?" She asked, "Don't give me the same reason as before. Saying that I looked scared isn't valid enough for me."

Shirou stifled a frown. On the screen in front of him, his classmate Sero Hanta had managed to tape the corridors into a spiderweb-like formation.

"I honestly don't know what else to tell you, Kodai-san." He answered, "Saving people is something Heroes do, right? It should be our first instinct."

"So saving me was an 'instinct'?" She tried to clarify. Upon receiving clarification, she frowned. "That's not something someone should have as an instinct. Not even all Professional Heroes have that instinct, they weigh the pros and cons before making such decisions to make sure that they can save as many people as they can."

Her eyes narrowed, something that surprised Shirou, seeing as she was very quiet when around others.

"You should be careful with that 'instinct' of yours, Emiya-san." She advised, "Something like that could end up doing more harm than good, especially if you can't back it up."

 _If he couldn't back it up…?_

Certainly, if Shirou ran into a situation where he wouldn't be able to help, or helping might do more harm than good, however…

"Even then, I wouldn't regret acting on that 'instinct', Kodai-san." He answered, "Trying to save everyone you can isn't an act to be condemned."

The girl fell silent at that and turned to face the screen, showing his classmate Sero trying to escape the coordinated assault of Tokoyami Fumikage and Tsuyu Asui. Actually, it looked like the Class B teammate of the frog and crow was a girl named Tsunotori Pony, who had two horns in which she was using to try and knock her other classmates around, to superb results.

She spoke once more. "You can't save everyone. You have to choose who to save, Emiya-san."

Why was everyone he kept meeting in this world trying to remind him of something he already knew? He knew that he couldn't save them all. He failed to save Illyasviel when Gilgamesh battled her monster of a servant, so he knew that very well.

 _But…_

"Even then, it's not wrong to try to save everyone." Shirou replied, "A hero, an ideal ally of justice, is someone that tries to save everyone he sees. To become one, I will save as many as I can."

 _Even if it will lead me to my grave._

He felt Kodai's body shudder slightly as if his words triggered something within her, but he wasn't sure exactly what. She regarded him with a simple look, before sighing.

The match ended and now Aizawa left to collect them while All Might gave everyone the standard MVP of the match treatment, which went to Sero, who cooperated and helped his team survive the longest.

"I see that you've made up your mind." She concluded, "I don't fully agree with it, but I won't deny that your intentions are good."

Shirou nodded–

"I agree with that notion, Kodai-san."

Both Shirou's and Kodai's eyes snapped wide and turned towards the source of the voice.

"I've been standing here for a few minutes… but it certainly took you both a while to notice." The strange student mused. From his uniform, Shirou concluded that he was from Class B. "Pardon for intruding, I have to ask though, is that the only reason you're trying to become a hero?"

Kodai froze and sent a glance to Shirou. It wasn't a look of surprise, but more of wariness. Her lips were held shut, she maintained silence even more so than before.

Shirou was intrigued by her reaction, he turned to face the person who had asked him… and caught an eye full of purple hair, splitting off wildly as if it was swept by the wind. In addition, there was an odd choker wrapped around his neck, it had a speaker on it too.

"Yes, that's it." Shirou replied, "I don't have any other aspirations. To become a hero, an ally of justice, someone that saves others, is my only goal."

"No other reason? Nothing to prove, but just a wish to help others?" He mused. "Noble, almost suffocating in fact."

At the stare he was getting, he continued.

"Frankly, it's a wonderful thought." He said with intrigue, "Others simply want the job for fame or money, but you? I don't think there are many that share your line of thought, unfortunately. I can see why Uwabami-sama had you as her first pick. She also said that you were who I was to thank for the recommendation I received. "

 _Uwabami-sama?_

A light of recognition flickered across Shirou's face.

"You were the student who Uwabami-san gave my recommendation to…" Shirou concluded, slightly wide eyes nodding in understanding.

"Yes, that is me." The teen said, a smile taking shape. "Allow me to extend a formal greeting. Hello, Emiya Shirou. It is good to finally meet you."

* * *

 _This cake is amazing, damn it!_

She didn't know what was more surprising, that the cake tasted better while in the cafe or the price that it came with.

It was damned worth it though. She could see CEO's lining up for a piece of it, and here she was getting a discount because of a coupon that she nicked from Shirou's pocket.

Technically she didn't steal it per say… but it simply fell out of his pocket and she found it on the dining table– Finders keepers, losers weepers!

Ignoring the mindset that shouldn't be on a Hero… Yu pushed the thoughts of the devilishly good cake away and focused once more on the cafe's ambiance.

She inspected everything, the tables were solid, the chairs comfortable, the atmosphere was soft and calming, even the menu was visually pleasing… So why in the world did Shirou act like that?

Maybe Shirou didn't like someone in the cafe?

It would make sense… for anyone but Shirou. Her kid barely had a bad bone in her body. Disliking someone enough to avoid him or her, to the extent of keeping this mystery person a secret from her, just plain felt wrong.

But, it still happened, and Yu was determined to figure out why.

Now if only she could figure out how to get another discount, even though she loved the damn confections, it just too damn expensive!

"Mount Lady?"

Yu snapped from her seething reverie and faced the door, only to a man in a hoodie, face obscured by wood– wait, wood?

"Kamui Woods, is that you?" Yu blurted out, "What are you doing here?"

"Likely the same reason as you," Kamui Woods said, "This place has started getting popular with the other heroes, so I wanted to check it out."

This place was popular, really? She thought it had opened only recently... was someone advertising it for them?

Yu blinked at that. She didn't really realize that little piece of trivia, but then again she didn't know everything that goes on with the Pro Hero scene. They don't really tell rookies much after all.

"I see… well, have fun trying to choose what to eat!" She waved. He returned the gesture.

As he left, Yu went back to the more important thoughts. She could probably do the old seduction trick, but it wouldn't really work with the waitress – she was a girl duh (unless she swung that way) – it could work with the other waiter though, he seemed like the type to lose himself.

It definitely wouldn't work with the owner from before, though. From the short encounter that they had, she knew that he wasn't going to budge one bit on the price.

There was shuffling in front of her. When Yu opened her eyes to look, she found that she wished that she had kept them closed. "What are you doing, Kamui Woods?"

The man rubbed the wooden mask he had under his hoodie and sighed. "My apologies, Mount Lady. There were no more available seats. So I was advised to share with someone."

"So you chose my seat because…?"

"I'd rather not sit with any of my fangirls."

Yu winced and nodded at that. As much as she loved having fans, she didn't really like being around her fanboys, who were more than vocal about the things they'd like to do with her.

"Really? All of them are your fangirls?"

He nodded, "I took a glance at their faces and recognized them."

"You recognize them all? I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not about that."

"It's honorable to not forget the faces of those who idolize you." He claimed, "In addition, sitting with them might start some unsavory rumors. I know how you ladies act when it comes to those, I'd rather avoid ruining a poor girl's social life."

"Weird, but I can see why." She was a girl after all. "So, did you order?"

"I made my order with the waitress," He replied with a sigh, "It was strange to see Endeavor's daughter working at a cafe, though. The media had mentioned it being a teaching job instead."

"Yeah weird…" She muttered before realization came to her. "Wait a minute! The waitress is Endeavor's kid!?"

He nodded, "One of many, I believe she was the eldest… or was it second eldest? I admit I do not keep track of details like this, so I don't know much."

Yu nodded, "Sorry, you don't have to tell me." She could Google it later. "I was just surprised, that's it."

An awkward silence took hold.

 _Shit._

Admittedly, Yu didn't know much about Kamui Woods, so conversation was hard to start. Maybe Yu should just pay the damn bill and leave so he could enjoy his cake or coffee in peace.

Kamui woods coughed to clear his throat. "Speaking of children… that reminds me, you adopted the young boy from the meet, correct?"

Oh look, a topic to escape the awkward silence– Go and take it, Yu!

"Yes, I did!" She replied, "He's a good kid– great chef, too."

"Chef…?" He muttered, "Not what I was expecting, but I wanted to ask why you adopted him? Many of our colleagues are confused. Isn't it hard to both raise a child and perform in our profession?"

If she didn't have Shirou's budgeting skills then yeah, she would have been dirt poor ages ago.

Now how was she going to answer that question… Hmm… Kamui Woods was a very serious person, so she needed a good enough reply.

"Think of it like this, Kamui-san," Yu started, "There were certain circumstances that came about. If I didn't adopt him, then he could be a correctional facility by now."

He narrowed his eyes, "A correctional facility? I was under the impression that he was an upstanding young man."

"Shirou definitely is, don't get me wrong about that, but there are some things about him where he's just… a bit too upstanding. You know what I mean?"

"I don't follow."

Yu sighed. "Okay then, in Aizawa's words, he was an altruistic brat. He literally ran from us, when under probation, to find a serial killer. Remember the Beast?"

He frowned and nodded. How could he not? All Heroes in Hosu recalled him. Even in the age of heroes, someone who willingly performed inhumane actions like that was someone to be feared. His eyes widened upon recalling her last words.

"Don't tell me, he ran to find that monster?" He asked, but it was more of a statement. "That's beyond reckless. Such things should be left to the heroes in charge! Endangering one's own life like that is detrimental not only to his wellbeing but to the wellbeing of others around him."

"Exactly why he'd be in a correctional facility by now…"

"So why adopt him to take away from that?" Kamui Woods argued, "Forgive me Mount Lady, but that was probably the best move to take, for his sake."

"It's because if he was sent there, he'd never leave."

He furrowed his brow, even if no one could see it from his mask, "What do you mean by that?"

Yu snorted, frustration leaking into her tone, "Like Aizawa said, Shirou altruistic to a fault. At first, I believed that putting him in a correctional facility would be breaking him, that's why I adopted him, to save him from that fate… but the longer I lived with him, I learned something very important about him."

She looked Kamui Woods in the eye, being completely serious. "He's unshakable in his belief about saving others. Put him in a correctional facility, he'd never leave. He'd never be without psychologists who'll be telling him that his tendency to save others is wrong. He'd be stuck in that place until they'll just decide to keep him on permanent probation."

She grabbed and drank down her now cold coffee in a single go. "His life would have been ruined. Half of it spent in the facility… Sending him to that place would have been the wrong choice. As a Hero and as a mother, I can see that now more clearly than ever."

As silence fell on her words, she took a slow glance at Kamui Woods. She couldn't tell what was behind his mask, but a soft exhale held her attention. "I wasn't certain at first when I met you back at the meet, but now I am certain… you have truly changed."

He gazed at her, "I don't see the same person that I met that day on the train tracks." His wooden mask folded away, revealing a smile to a similarly surprised Yu, "It is admirable, incredibly so, that you would go so far for the child, one that I may add, you only knew for a few short weeks before adopting."

Yu smirked and chuckled at that, "Well you know me, a great professional hero, one that everyone literally looks up to."

"They certainly do!" He chuckled out, "… but now, more so than ever, it is less for unsavory reasons."

 _What?_

Kamui Woods saw her expression and smiled once more, which felt just plain weird seeing as all the time that Yu knew him he had been wearing wood on his face. "You have not noticed? There are fewer fanboys looking up at your rear than before, and far more fans that are looking up to an upstanding Hero."

 _What in the–_

"Hey now!" Yu exclaimed, "I may be a good hero, but I'm not that admirable!" She wasn't blond and dumb enough to think that everyone looked up to her like that.

"It's true!" He laughed out, "Just ask your friend Uwabami the next time you meet about it, she will say the same thing. You aren't even at half of All Might's level, but you are certainly close to that bar."

Yu fell silent, gazing into her empty coffee cup.

Was it true? Did everyone think like that now? Actually, when did they start thinking like that? She didn't notice, not even once… Come to think of it, neither her secretary nor Shirou have been harassing her about her behavior lately.

"Do not think so hard about it," Kamui Woods said, "I assume you are on break right? Simple relax and smell the roses, it'll help you think clearly."

… Maybe she'd take that advice.

For now, she'd just chill and talk with her colleague, maybe some more open secrets would be revealed today.

"I should order more coffee…" She muttered, "Do you want some too, Kamui Woods?"

He chuckled, "I'm not working, Mount Lady. I am Nishiya Shinji, you may call me Shinji, all of my friends do."

"So we're friends now?" She mused playfully, "Okay then, I'm Takeyama Yu, but you can just call me Yu."

She hoped that Shirou was having a good time. Maybe he was hanging out with the kid that Uwabami recommended.

What was his name again…? Oh, that was right.

 _Shinso Hitoshi._

* * *

"My name is Shinso Hitoshi," He introduced, "If you wish, we could talk later, for now, we should focus on the activity."

Shirou nodded, "Yes, that would be a good idea–"

 _Prana surged within him, expelling the foreign influence before it could take hold._

–The feeling faded as Shinso merely blinked at Shirou in mild surprise.

 _What was that?_

"I see that it didn't work on you." He said slowly. "I guess that is expected of Uwabami-sama's first choice."

Shirou leveled a wary stare. "... What did you try to do?"

"Emiya-san, are you alright?" Kodai asked. Shirou didn't reply, but maintained an leveled and wary stare towards Shinso.

Shinso in turn, smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry for putting you both on guard, I got excited meeting you. After all… if it wasn't for you, then I wouldn't even be here. The regular test for U.A. would have been impossible for me."

 _Impossible?_

"Shinso Hitoshi," Aizawa called, "Your team is already leaving. Hurry up and get a move on."

Shinso Hitoshi, so that was his name… Wait, was the fourth match over already? Shirou didn't even get to see who battled.

"Team C versus Team G was the fourth match," Shinso said, "You were muttering so I answered. Team C won because of Bondo, whose quirk stopped Team G from doing anything. He glued them to the wall."

Shirou remained silent, just as Kodai and Shishida were, but at least he now knew that Jiro ended up losing the battle.

Shinso spared them a glance before walking out of the room. "I look forward to talking with you again soon, Emiya Shirou."

His team had already left, Aizawa sent him an odd glance as if trying to figure out if he missed something… He most certainly did. Shirou did not know what Shinso did, nor what had happened, but he felt something trying to worm its way into his psyche.

If he wasn't already somewhat experienced against similar kinds of attacks – both the Holy Grail War and Archer were to thank for that – then he would have fallen under… something.

"So… Why were you being silent?" Shirou asked. At getting no reply, he pressed onward. "Was it because of his quirk?"

Kodai nodded.

"Okay… What does his quirk do?" Shirou asked.

She frowned, but this time she replied, "Shinso-san has an odd quirk, one that a Hero wouldn't normally have. We're lucky that we aren't his enemy here… although I suppose it's even luckier that we ended up learning that you can resist the effects."

"Effects of what exactly?"

"Just watch the screen." Kodai said, "Try and guess what his quirk does from there."

"Seriously? Not going to tell me at all?" Shirou asked incredulously.

"It's better seen than explained," She said.

Shirou could only take her word for it.

Villain Team F, composed of Kuroiro Shihai – a student whose skin was pitch-black – Koda, and Sato – against the Hero Team E, composed of Ashido, the girl who shoots acid – Yosetsu Awase, who wore a bandanna… and Shinso Hitoshi.

* * *

Sato stood beside the weapon, they all did. Kuroiro, his temporary teammate from Class B, had mentioned that they should not talk with any of their enemies.

When Sato had asked why he said that one of their opponents had a quirk that triggers when he is replied to.

Shinso Hitoshi, his quirk takes control of someone's mind upon vocally replying to him. Honestly, he got lucky, his other teammate Koda didn't talk much and was given the task of protecting the weapon. If any of his teammates were the talkative type, then the situation could have been a four-versus-two or a five-versus-one.

At the present, his task was to merely oversee the main entrance, being the vanguard to split them up so that Kuroiro could take them out with his quirk. Sato didn't really know what his quirk did, but it was named 'Black' so there was that.

He didn't really get why some Class B students didn't want to tell other's their quirk, maybe they were preparing for the tournament in a few months? It would certainly make sense.

"Did you see any of the Hero Team?"

Sato nearly jumped, but upon remembering the voice, he sighed in relief. "You nearly took me by surprise Kuroiro–"

What Sato remembered after that was absolutely nothing.

* * *

"So that… is his quirk," Shirou concluded.

What he saw was Shinso sneaking up on his friend and speaking to him. It looked like Sato didn't realize that it was Shinso and replied heartily, only for his entire demeanor to change.

Shinso spoke again, and Sato rushed into the room where Koda was and proceeded to attack him.

Mind control, activated by replying to Shinso. Pair that up with the apparent voice modulator that he had wrapped around his neck, and you have someone who you can't afford to take lightly.

Shirou ignored the loud boasting that the student in the butler suit started having about Class B's superiority. Thankfully, the teen with enlarged hands hit him upside his head to quieten him down.

"Yes, it is." Kodai replied, but turned to Shirou with a muse, "Not very Hero-like is it?"

Certainly, it didn't feel like something a hero of the modern age would have, but he had met people who could be called heroes in their own time. Having a spear that never misses the heart, summoning of skeletal warriors, they were all heroes in their own right.

Saying that Shinso had an unfitting quirk was something he could not do.

"That quirk can save people," Shirou replied, "Shinso can handle hostage situations easily and capture villains without harming them. If he doesn't become a hero then I'll be surprised."

"Glad you think that way brat."

Shirou turned to face Aizawa, who was just about to leave the room. The match had all but ended, with the four-versus-two situation being too much for Koda and the Class B student Kuroiro to handle.

"Our entrance exam isn't rational." He continued, "Even after years, we have not improved it. Those with quirks that are flashy and powerful take precedence over those with quirks that can achieve more peace approaches of subjugation."

 _Like Aizawa's own quirk._

"Then shouldn't you change the practical portion of the exam?" Shirou asked, "If it doesn't work and keeps people with quirks like Shinso out, then why hasn't it been changed?"

"Good question," Aizawa said, but he didn't reply as he left the room.

Shirou frowned at that but noticed him sending a glance to All Might, who nodded in turn. He puffed his chest and spoke. "No doubt you all heard what young Emiya concluded, which means we have no need to say who is the MVP of the match. I want you all to know that it is a very valid concern."

Once Shirou took a glance around the room, he realized that the majority of the students had decided to listen to he and Aizawa talk. Once again, showing how bad he was at noticing his surroundings when not in battle. Even Rin, who was as clumsy as could be, could sneak up on him if he wasn't focused.

"Then why haven't we changed it, sir?" Iida asked as he stood as straight as he could.

"Simple answer, young Iida," He replied, "Our system is flawed."

All Might smiled as he saw the semi-shocked looks that the students had.

"As much as it pains me to admit, our system of heroes is still not perfect." He added, "While we have a working system at the present, that was not the case not so long ago. Remember, we have had close to a century to work a system for heroes, but it was only a decade ago that we made notable progress on that departure."

– _Because that was when All Might became the number one Hero, the symbol of peace._

The time before that was chaos-ridden, a place where heroes existed but crime thrived.

"Uwabami, a fellow professional Hero, has already taken measures and hosted several meetings with the board of education about the issue. Until we get approval from them, we can't truly change our entrance exam."

"... but I thought U.A. doesn't follow the beaten path?" A young girl with pale silver hair asked. Yanagi Reiko was her name if Shirou recalled.

"That is true, but while all hero courses mostly follow the same formula – with U.A. following its own curriculum style – all entrance exams have a written and a practical exam. Unfortunately, as of now, there is no cutting out the practical exam."

"So all schools use giant robots?" Sero rhetorically asked, which prompted a few odd looks from a few students, most likely from those who got in from recommendation.

"No, they don't. U.A. has a substantial budget to spend on them, but I heard Shiketsu High uses their own Third-Year Hero course students as villains!"

"… All Hero courses are crazy…" A small boy named Mineta muttered.

The door opened and all teams reentered the room. Jiro walked up to a confused Sato and explained to him what happened. Shirou would have walked up to him too, but Shinso stepped in his way.

"So, does Uwabami-sama's first pick find my quirk unpleasing?"

From the glint in his eyes, it looked like he was trying to find something in Shirou. What it was, he didn't know. All Shirou knew was that he was hoping for something…

 _Ah, wait a minute._

Shirou remembered. Shinso had asked him before if he had something to prove.

His quirk definitely proved something all right.

"Your quirk will save lives," He repeated, "That's all there needs to be said."

He narrowed his eyes. "Even if it's more fitting for a villain…?"

Was this why he wanted to be in U.A? To prove that even someone with a quirk like his could be a hero? Any practical person could see the benefits of his quirk and yet he has to fight to prove it…?

Sometimes, Shirou just didn't understand the world he was in.

"A sword can be used to defend or attack. What you do with it is up to the swordsman." Shirou said, sending him a leveled look. "It seems that you have already chosen to defend."

He chuckled slowly and sighed. "As expected of the one who saved Uwabami-sama…"

Shirou's leveled stare faltered into a wince, which Kodai noticed. "She mentioned that to you?"

"It was an interesting story, to say the least," He said, a smile taking hold. "I can feel when I'm unwanted, so I'll leave you two alone."

Kodai sent Shirou a glance and sighed, "Shinso-san, it's fine. We could use some more company here at the back."

Speaking of which, a few more students had made their way to the back. Shirou smiled at the appearance of Sato and Jiro.

"Hey, Emiya!" She called, "I didn't know you were friends with a few Class B guys."

They walked up to them, but despite the friendly introduction from Jiro, Sato was still a tad wary. It was somewhat warranted though. It's unnerving to wake up knowing that you lost without doing anything.

The tension between them was a bit off-putting, though.

"My name is Jiro Kyoka from Class A," She introduced, "I already know who mister mind control is, so what's your name?"

"Kodai Yui, Class B."

Jiro waited for an elaboration, but silence was all she got.

"Not very talkative, I can respect that," Jiro concluded.

Shinso took a step towards Sato, which seemed to put the teen on guard. Shirou winced internally at that reaction, but he saw that Shinso did not mind and simply held a hand out.

"My apologies for my actions during the match, I was simply aiming to win," he said. "I hope that the encounter does not leave any harsh feelings between us."

Sato had a shocked look on his face, he took a few seconds to form a reply but shook his hand in a firm grip. "Sorry, it just… felt weird you know? Having no memory of what happened. Maybe that's what amnesia feels like?"

He chuckled at that, "I suppose that it might. No hard feelings?"

"None at all."

The nervous tension had faded somewhat, it was still there, but it was muted. For Shinso, it was no doubt a good occurrence.

"Next match is on screen," Kodai informed simply.

Everyone's gaze broke from the interaction and focused on the screen, Team L and Team M.

Team L was composed of Aoyama, Kamakiri Togaru – Who had a head reminiscent of a centipede – and Fukishida Manga–

His head was a manga speech bubble. What.

Quickly Shirou focused on the other team, the Hero team. They had Yanagi Reiko, Tokage Setsuna, and Honenuki Juzo. In short, this was mainly composed of Class B, with Aoyama the only Class A student there.

"This will end quickly," Shinso concluded. "Juzo will wrap this up."

"First name basis with the guy, so you're friends?" Jiro asked.

"I respect him greatly. We are both simply students who got in through recommendation." He replied. " I believe there are two in your own class too."

"Really? So that means that his quirk must be something else…" Sato mused, "Any idea what it is?"

Shinso smirked, "You'll see soon enough. It'll certainly be something"

… What they did see was certainly something.

Honenuki entered the building alongside his allies, once they entered the weapon room, the Villain team rushed forward. The majority of them having physical quirks with only Aoyama using his Navel Laser as a form of ranged support.

They looked to have expected it though Honenuki's teammates intercepted the two villain members and dodged Aoyama's beam. From there, Honenuki had slammed his foot onto the concrete.

Shirou admittedly blinked.

After the stomp, the concrete beneath all the Villain Team members gave way. They fell to the floor below, leaving the Hero Team a floor above them with the weapon.

The Villain team had rushed to the stairs, but by then it was too late.

"Once more we call the MVP of the match," All Might called, "I'd say that the most work put out was by young Honenuki, but…"

It was certainly quick, just as Shinso said. However…

"Due to blatantly destroying the floor of the building, points will be deducted." Aizawa continued. "Due to this, the MVP of the match has gone to Aoyama Yuga, who had done his best to stop the Hero Team. Not that it worked. I would have named the other members of the Hero team as MVP, but they agreed with Honenuki's plan, so deductions as well."

"WHO CARES ABOUT THAT!? YOU SEE THAT CLASS A!?" The butler cheered again, "CLASS B HAS TWO COMPLETE VICTORIES! YOU ALL HAVE NOTHING ON–"

Once more, Kendo Itsuka used an enlarged hand to knock his head aside. "Sorry, this guy doesn't think before he opens his mouth." Kendo apologized.

"I'd like to mention that destroying school property isn't appreciated," Aizawa added. However, his frown slowly turned into a smirk – which Shirou found to be very annoying – and glanced over to the students. "On to the final matchup for today… Team N as the Villain team and Team K as the Hero team."

Team K, that was his team.

Shirou sent a glance to Shishida, who had left his friends and walked to him and Kodai.

Shirou then sent a glance to where Team N was gathered.

They comprised of Kirishima Eijiro, Monoma Neito – wearing a stylish butler outfit which Shirou didn't understand – and finally… Yaoyorozu Momo.

 _This was going to be… interesting._

* * *

 **A/N: So as you see from the cliffhanger... I'm holding Shirou's mock battle for the next chapter. Mainly due to the fact that it would probably take close to 5k words and since this chapter is already reaching 12k, I decided to cut it.**

 **As you can see this chapter came out late in the month, which I think I prefer rather than the middle of the month deal from before. It gives me more time to work on these chapters and for real life. Although, it is my break right now before I finally enter into college life (save me) so might as well go gung-ho on all the fics I can.**

 **BNHA Season 3 is out! Hurray! I damn hope I get to see more of Class B's quirks, Kuroiro Shihai and Kaibara Sen interest me greatly. Not hopeful that I'll get information on that though, seeing as Kohei hasn't even given much information about it in his own manga. Seriously, the only reason that I couldn't give Class B all their costumes in this arc is only that I don't want to get the information wrong. Doing something like that honestly sickens the perfectionist in me.**

 **So instead, I bullshitted through it. Yes, it's unfair for Class B, but what should I do? I can't add another person to Class A, it'd still be imbalanced. This was the only way I could think of that could accommodate Shirou. Yes, adding Shinso removes the whole general studies course praising him, but I hope to give him the spotlight in the sports festival in a different way.**

 **New cover, which also doubles as a way to show you Shirou's costume too. My brother drew that, I'd appreciate if you critiqued it nicely with reasonable feedback like a civilized person. Then again, this is the internet.**

 **Also at the same time that this is uploaded, Bladed Horizon should be uploaded too. If you don't know what it is, it's the Poll Winner of the fanfic idea pitch I had a month ago. I made two chapters for it, so you should be able to read it for a while.**

 **I can promise the next My Ideal Academia chapter to be late next month, which is the new usual.**

 **As always, leave a review if you have minor gripes or a reasonable complaint that I can converse with you about (which means not a guest review).**

 **Until next time (or until I make a huge mistake that I and my beta missed while reviewing the chapter).**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Gave it a second read through. I found some errors and fixed them.**

 **A/N 3: New knowledge (or forgotten knowledge) about the fact that you couldn't destroy buildings. Legitimately forgot about it and let Honenuki go scot-free. Rewrote that scene to be tamer, but it makes more sense now. Credit to Capito Celcior for this.**

 **A/N 4: This is from several months after I initially posted this specific chapter (before chapter 21 chronologically) and only just now noticed that I had Shirou mention being in the cafeteria before… even though his 'first' trek to the place was in a future chapter. Whoops. Credits to OmegaRaguel for this.**

 **A/N 5: Minor continuity edit for Kodai's quirk here. Credits to Mart-kos99k for this.**


	16. Chapter 15 - A Spar with a Sword

**Chapter 15**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

When she first used her quirk, her mother had called her a genius.

At a young age, she had already memorized the individual parts, the material composition, the assembly process, and finally the coating of a Matryoshka doll.

It wasn't notable, not incredibly so. Anyone in her family could have done it, but it was because she had been six years of age when she created it that it earned her praise.

Her family's quirk, while versatile and powerful, was inherently harder to use when compared to other quirks. Take her classmate Bakugo for an instance, his quirk only needed to be triggered to induce an explosion.

However, she was in no way downplaying the effects of his quirk, but if she wanted to also create an explosion then she would need to envision the chemical composition of a grenade, its parts, and its base shape to create, and then she would need to throw it.

Her quirk was versatile but it was hard to use. Hence, why her mother had called her a genius. Following her success of the Matryoshka doll, she had created a polearm, a gauze used for sealing wounds, and even a rocket launcher.

She was a genius, that was why she had been recommended to U.A. Not just for her quirk but for her talent, or at least that was what her parents always told her.

She did not want to disappoint their expectations, she would succeed in this exercise with flying colors.

Although, those thoughts did not change the frustration Yaoyorozu Momo felt as she listened to her teammates with a sigh.

"This sucks~" Monoma drawled within the literal third building used today. "I'm not even paired with any Class B guys."

"Come on man, lighten up!" Kirishima cheered. "We get to show off now! It's not every day we get to fight with our quirks like this!"

"Please don't talk to me."

 _This was getting ridiculous._

"Why do you dislike Class A so much, Monoma-san?" Yaoyorozu asked with subtle annoyance. She was a nice and kind individual, but it was grating on her nerves whenever he badmouthed her class like that.

It was also affecting her focus, which was very important for her to use her quirk. Creating barricades around the weapon room was an arduous yet important task. They were sturdy, very much so, it would take a very strong battering ram to break it.

"None of your business," Monoma said, though there was a hint of increased agitation from it.

"Seriously, lighten up!" Kirishima once more said, pushing further. "Heroes got to have teamwork, right? Arguing like this isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Fine~" Monoma drawled but he didn't seem to truly acknowledge the issue. He sighed and faced Yaoyorozu. "So, what's the plan? I know for a fact that I can't fight Shishida, I can't copy Mutant Quirks… then again, I'm not sure Jurota's quirk is completely a mutant type. Kodai's quirk is weird too, it makes other objects grow and shrink. I can only fight that Emiya guy…"

Monoma trailed off as he looked at what Yaoyorozu was doing.

"… You know that those barricades won't help much right?" He informed. "Kodai can just shrink it away and Shishida can just punch it down too."

Yaoyorozu halted her work with a twitch of her fingertips.

"A-Are you sure about that, Monoma-san?" She asked with a subtle tremble of annoyance.

"Shishida can break through solid concrete once he gets his quirk going anyway so these walls won't matter," He said as he twirled his finger around. "Kodai could also probably shrink a section of the building or something so that a kick or a punch would break it down."

Her face admittedly faulted into a frown as took in the information.

"Then that would have been nice to know a minute ago, Monoma-san."

"Although, you do have a nice quirk…" Monoma commented. "Being able to create whatever you want… Maybe I should copy it and make some weapons."

 _Here we go again…_

Yaoyorozu sighed, she didn't really like explaining the quirks of her 'quirk'.

"I'd advise against it Monoma-san. To use my quirk – Creation – You need to memorize the molecular structure of the object before you even begin creating them. It has taken me a long time to even learn how to use my quirk."

"Really? That sucks," Monoma frowned and turned to Kirishima. "What about you?"

"My quirk is Hardening," He explained. "I can make my body really hard to withstand loads of attacks. I can probably take on the Shishida guy you mentioned."

Monoma gave him a once over. "Yeah, you probably could… though I doubt it. So that means that while you can take care of him, I can either deal with Kodai or the Emiya guy…"

"I'd advise not fighting Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu cut in. "His quirk is Weapon Creation. With it, he can make weaponry. It is very much similar to mine. He has told me that he needs to visualize the components, materials, and overall creation-process of the object."

Monoma sighed exaggeratedly.

"Great, just great. My greatest asset is copying other quirks– and I can only copy the quirks of TWO people in a battle with SIX people!" He rubbed his brow in agitation. "Okay… here's the plan. I'll copy Redhead's quirk and use some weaponry if you can provide it, which should give me an edge against Kodai. Redhead can fight Shishida – or at least stall him until I can help – and you can deal with Emiya. Your quirks are similar enough after all."

"I'm always up for a good old brawl," Kirishima claimed as he smashed two hardened knuckles together. Yaoyorozu only nodded at his words.

She now had the role of fighting Emiya Shirou… One whose quirk was incredibly similar to hers.

Honestly, she felt indifferent about that. She had the upper hand on the variety of things that they can create, so she should be just fine right?

If he makes a sword, she'll reply with a spear. If it was a shield, she'll counter with a grenade or a gun. She had the advantage of modern weaponry. She could even create a giant iron ball and let it roll down the corridor. She was sure of her victory…

… So why was it that she thought back on Aizawa-sensei's words?

 _Do not underestimate potential allies and enemies._

That was what her teacher had said, but Yaoyorozu was not underestimating anyone, she was sure of that.

Monoma would deal with Kodai, if his quirk can copy hers then his own natural strength should prevail against hers. Kirishima might struggle against this Shishida person, but once she or Monoma were done with their opponents then they could help out.

It was a good plan… yet his words kept ringing in her head.

… Perhaps she should start preparing more. Perhaps some long ranged weaponry or traps along the wall. A tripwire that triggers a mini flash grenade and alarm would do nicely.

With that in mind, Yaoyorozu started creating guns with rubber bullets, to the shocked and startled expressions of her teammates. She even offered to hand them a few rounds, but Kirishima declined to say it was unmanly.

Monoma certainly seemed okay with grabbing one though. He even requested something extra.

Around the weapon room's corridors, she set up traps and other hidden machinery. She also made sure to tell her teammates about them so that they could avoid them.

She should have no reason to worry now. After all, modern weaponry would triumph against medieval weaponry. It was proven already when you realize that modern day society abandoned such weaponry for guns and Kevlar.

She was fine, her prepared weapons were fine. All she had to do now was wait for the match to start. She was a genius, it was time to uphold that title.

 _Now if only Monoma-san would stop continually boasting about how much better his class was._

* * *

Shirou stared at the building before him. It was the most standard design for a building that there could be. However, he did notice a few differences as opposed to regular buildings.

The glass was bulletproof, which was an odd addition that Shirou could not see a reason for. The door up front was also made to resist brute force, which might be the same for every other door.

Luckily it was actually the only door, the entire inner sanctum of the building had no doors, only corridors and empty rooms for ambushes and traps.

Knowing the quirk of a certain person up there, there was a high chance that there would be traps set up.

This was going to be worthwhile training against human opponents. Fighting against superpowered demigods, witches, and some animated skeletons weren't a good comparison for him to have while against a much more fragile opponent.

He didn't want to accidentally shatter someone's skull… again.

"So, what's the plan?" Shishida asked from beside him, taking off his shirt for some reason, revealing his admittedly toned and furred body.

"I'm all for running in like madmen, but there are two reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea. First, while my quirk makes me much stronger and beast-like qualities… it gets me high, so coordination might be hard." He sounded embarrassed as he said that. "Second, we don't know what their quirks do."

 _One of those can be fixed._

"The redhead is named Kirishima and his quirk is Hardening," Shirou supplied handily. "It will allow him to endure harsh blows by strengthening his body. Yaoyorozu has a quirk named Creation, it's similar to mine but less restrictive."

"I see… and what does your quirk do?" Shishida asked.

"I can create weaponry," Shirou says as he traced a standard short sword. "I'm somewhat restricted. I can't make guns at all, something about their inner machinery just doesn't work with me. I can make a bit of armor too but bladed weaponry is what my quirk works best with."

It was actually frustrating. A quick ranged option like a firearm would be useful in many situations. Not that he liked shooting people with a gun.

"I see…" Shishida muttered as he rubbed his furry brown chin. "That would mean that this 'Yaoyorozu' will be creating a plethora of equipment that Monoma and this 'Kirishima' will use."

"That… or traps." Kodai supplied as if reading Shirou's mind.

Shishida frowned. "This will be troublesome… Kodai? Could you grab some debris from the building that the Bakugou guy wrecked and use it as an elevator? It'd be a great shortcut into the building."

She made to nod but ultimately shook her head.

"That might be impossible. While I can enlarge objects to that height, I'd be leaving the field area in doing so." A few moments of silence. "Also, this is an indoor training exercise."

Shishida nodded with a frown.

"Right, so that's our first plan out… we'll need to come up with another if these traps prove to be troublesome."

Shirou thought back to the villain team and narrowed his eyes as he remembered something.

"I forgot to ask, what does Monoma-san do? He wore a butler outfit but I don't know how it helps his quirk."

He was legitimately confused. Was his quirk related to pastries or tea?

Shishida blinked and smacked his forehead.

"I forgot to tell you, sorry. Monoma Neito's quirk allows him to copy another person's quirk on touch. We shouldn't run into any problems as long as it's me who engages him… Are you okay, Emiya?"

 _Copy… another person's quirk?_

Shirou inadvertently swallowed some bile.

 _That… was bad._

If Monoma touched him even once… Would his 'quirk' be copied or not? Did he want his 'quirk' to be copied? It was the same dilemma with Aizawa. If Aizawa wanted to negate his magecraft by using his own quirk, would it actually work or not?

His secret could get exposed here and now.

The secret that his 'quirk' was not actually a quirk.

Kodai noticed his distress and frowned in concern.

"Is something wrong, Emiya?"

" _Now, let's start the indoor combat training between Team K and Team N!"_

Shirou sighed and entered the building with Kodai and Shishida trailing behind.

"Nothing, Kodai-san…"

There was no more time to properly dwell upon it now. The exercise had started so they had to enter the building lest Aizawa scolds them. However, there was one thing he would without a doubt follow.

 _Under no circumstances is he to fight the student known as Monoma Neito._

They found a simple corridor, it had open rooms whose doors had yet to be installed, and a stairway leading to the next floor straight ahead.

"Let's go," Shirou said with caution. "Knowing Yaoyorozu's quirk, the weapon should be on the top floor with traps surrounding the lower ones. We should be careful–"

They didn't even go up one set of stairs before seeing someone rushing out to them.

 _It was Monoma Neito._

Shirou couldn't even hide the surprise etched onto his face.

Were they allowed to just let one of them run out and fight them all at once at the start? This person has a copy ability, but surely he can't fight all of them at once.

Would his secret be out already!?

Shirou instantly traced a dull and non-lethal pair of swords. Even if being touched by the copy quirk was something he wanted to avoid at all costs, he wouldn't willingly cause excessive harm to him from using a Noble Phantasm here of all places.

Though, he'd still use his current traced blades to keep him away.

He could have traced his favored pair of Kanshou and Bakuya, but he hardly thought that was going to be fair… Or perhaps he should try to use them, albeit with some alteration to round the edges – to make it blunt. It would certainly take a whole load of mana though.

"Eat this!"

Luckily, Shishida rushed towards the Copy-quirk user with a smile on his face – telling Shirou that he activated his quirk and allowing him some reprieve from the surprise – with an enlarged clenched fist raised to land a devastating hook.

Alongside Shishida's rapidly increasing stature and bestial strength, it would surely damage Monoma by a significant margin, especially considering that was nearly as wide and about a head or two shorter than Berserker, which wasn't exactly small by any regard. Without reinforcement, he looked like he could crush Shirou's spine.

That thought vanished as Shirou saw Monoma grin and raise his hands to block the attack… with his skin hardening before the blow was struck. The villain team member was shot to the side by the sheer force of Shishida's attack.

However, he did not tumble across the ground as was intended, but instead, he skidded to a halt, the Hardening quirk having aided in his defense.

"He copied the Hardening!" Shirou called which caused Shishida to frown.

"No wonder my fist feels like it hit a wall… Gnarly," Jurota muttered with a goofy smile.

 _He really did get high, didn't he? Actually, it looks more like being drunk._

This was substantially going to be harder for Shishida to fight him, but that was fine. There were three of them, as long as they coordinated then they could restrain Monoma easily–

Once more Shirou's thoughts were disturbed. Rapid footsteps from one of the open rooms behind them. Shirou had been the first to react and raise his traced swords up in defense.

"Take this–!"

His quick reaction managed to block the downward swipe from Kirishima. The force being dispersed by the crossguard of his blades.

After seeing the two enemies in their exercise already when they haven't even stepped on a single stairway, Shirou was admittedly taken off guard. He had expected a battle but nothing this soon.

He was prepared though, he had been taken off guard before by Caster and it nearly cost him his life. It was not something he'd like a repeat of.

However, both Monoma and Kirishima had completely rushed out of the weapon room and into the first-floor hall – which meant that Yaoyorozu was inside the room alone – but why? Surely they must have planned to account for her safety?

Shirou pushed with his footing as leverage to shove Kirishima away. He took the chance and bolted him, ready to take him out of the fight with a swing of his blunted blade to his cranium.

He had a hardening quirk so he would survive it–

Shirou's instincts worked on overdrive as he stopped his charge, swords raised to block what his combat-hardened instincts told him.

The sound of a gun echoed the hallway. Kirishima looked mildly shocked but regained his own footing, and eventually faced his own teammate, Monoma… who had a pistol held out towards Shirou, smoke whistling out of the red-hot barrel.

That was, without a doubt, made by Yaoyorozu, which only meant that either Monoma or Kirishima had more up their sleeves.

 _Wasn't this supposed to be a simple exercise!?_

"Don't worry," Monoma said with a smirk. "It's got rubber bullets so it won't kill you, but it'll hurt a lot!"

"Just try it, pansy!" Shishida growled loudly at the proclamation and rushed him. This prompted the Monoma to leap to the side in order to avoid him.

Kodai took a separate approach from the beast-man and simply grabbed some broken debris from Jurota's initial attack. She raised it like a baseball, and threw it, increasing the size of the debris to a substantial degree, almost as large as Monoma himself.

The incredibly accurate pitch, with the added size and momentum, the newly created boulder soared in order to crush Monoma into the wall.

"Dodge, Monoma!" Kirishima called.

His warning came a second too late as the boulder impacted, sending the tuxedo teen flying into the nearby wall, leaving an indent of himself on it. Monoma shrugged it off with only a single stretch of his neck and rushed towards Shishida, most likely having taken barely any damage.

It was unfortunate that he would be fine with the quirk that he had copied. They could have taken out one of the villain team members early.

Kirishima was about to jump to help him, something that Shirou approved of, but even so, he would not let him.

Shirou was still in front of Kirishima, so he used his position to his advantage as he shuffled and leaped… right in his fellow redhead's path, surprising the teen with his agility.

Taking advantage of Kirishima's momentary surprise, Shirou quickly threw both swords at him, which prompted him to harden as much as he could. Shirou's own blades either bounced or slid off him.

Shirou de-traced the blades as soon as they did. The light from doing so momentarily blinded his classmate. With this minor opening, Shirou closed the distance and kicked him away, causing some surprising amount of damage, likely due to it being a surprise attack and his boots being tipped with metal.

Kodai, after also taking advantage of the opening and grabbing several handfuls of debris, re-positioned herself away from the bulk of the fight to let Shishida take point as the vanguard. The bestial boy growled as he bolted forward and attempted to knock the copy quirk user out of the fight.

With Kirishima still in the process of recovering, Monoma wouldn't be able to deal with Shishida's charge with Kodai's long ranged support.

Or at least, Shirou thought so.

The moment that Shishida's enlarged fist met the Copy-quirk user, he cried out in pain.

From where Shirou stood, he could see the faint flicks of light from behind Shishida's silhouette alongside the smell of mildly burning fur. Shirou was confused, though. Where would that last smell be coming from… unless–

Shishida backed away, screaming profanities due to his high-state, which allowed Monoma to slip by under him and rush onward. In his grasp, Shirou finally understood why Shishida felt that way.

There was a taser in Monoma's hands.

A standard issue police officer's taser, obviously prepared beforehand with a certain someone's quirk.

 _Yaoyorozu again!?_

No doubt weakened in order to be as non-lethal as possible, but the electric shock would no doubt stun the bestial boy for a few seconds.

More than enough time for Monoma to make his way towards Kodai.

With her quirk, her disposition as a close-ranged fighter was not optimal, or rather somewhat non-existent as a whole. She wouldn't be able to deal with Monoma, who had both a taser and Kirishima's quirk.

Shirou ignored any further musings and traced a pair of nameless yet sturdy blades. He spun his body for momentum and threw both blades towards the rushing copycat.

The blades whirled like windmills, eager to sever any and all that came in its path. However, they would be unable to do so with Shirou purposely using Alteration and dulling them.

The spinning blades provided enough of a distraction for Monoma to notice them and harden his whole body to deny the assault.

When the blades bounced off of him, the Copy-quirk user let out a wide smirk.

However, in that moment many more events occurred.

Shishida shrugged off the faint feeling of electricity and got ready to charge towards Monoma again.

Kodai threw small bits of debris before her and enlarged them until they became rolling boulders.

Kirishima got onto his feet and surged forth to aid his teammate with his hardened head and forearms as if the prongs of a beetle.

However, his charge would not lead anywhere, as Shirou hooked a newly traced Egyptian khopesh around his forearm like a hook and spun, using his own momentum to send him crashing into one of Kodai's rolling boulders.

While Shirou did so, a charging Shishida and the other rolling boulder were close to impacting the Class 1-B student...

... but he wouldn't be done in there.

The pistol he used earlier still had some rubber ammo in reserve. He quickly raised the weapon and shot a quick and dirty blow to Shishida's chest. Whether it was luck or skill, the bullet impacted the exact area where the distance between Shishida's furry hide and heart was thinnest.

The sudden jolt of shock stopped his charge as he stumbled and rolled over belly up. He was definitely fine because a second later he'd be back on his feet.

However, the same could be said for Kirishima, who recovered from being driven into the ground from his own charge and immediately tried going for a leg sweep on Shirou.

It would hurt, seeing as Kirishima had his quirk, but his form wasn't right. Shirou stepped closer in and avoided being hit by the heel of his sweep. Instead, he was hit with Kirishima's thigh, which didn't provide nearly enough damage due to lack of overall momentum.

The closer you were to a strike, the less time it had to generate any momentum. Shirou's own personal spars with Saber had proved it to him better than any manual would have.

However, with Shishida and him both occupied, Shirou widened his eyes in realization as he tried to aid Kodai, but Kirishima's painfully hard grip around his ankles prevented any of that.

With one Hardening-quirk powered punch from the Copy-quirk user, Kodai was sent flying back as if she was a mere paperweight.

She roughly rolled on the floor, scrapping her arms on the cement, but she managed to drop a few pieces of debris and formed a wall between him and her as she rolled by, isolating her away from the physically superior foe.

A few bits of debris flew above the haphazard wall and surrounded Monoma, growing until the debris surrounded him completely from the bottom to the top of the bottom floor ceiling.

However, in doing so Kodai had hastily dug through her pockets for the said debris. That haste made something fall out of her pocket and be quickly torn asunder by the momentum.

Her capture tape.

Shishida saw this upon getting back up and grabbed Kirishima, dragging him off of Shirou's legs after kicking him once to loosen his grip.

"Go! Emiya!" Shishida shouted with sudden vitriol. "Go get the bomb!"

Shirou blinked. "Why!? I can help here!"

Kodai was the next one to shout from behind her make-shift wall. "We've wasted three minutes already! We won't beat them anytime soon! GO!"

Shirou thinned his lips and nodded to Shishida. "Good luck."

The bestial boy nodded as Kirishima got back onto his feet.

"T-That was a manly kick you got there!" He complemented with a smile. However, he held something in his clenched hardened fist. "But I'm way more manly than you! I got his tape, Monoma!"

The moment he opened his palm, _Shishida's_ capture tape, having been grabbed by the Hardening-quirk user before he was kicked away, fell to the ground ripped to shreds.

Shishida actually giggled. "Are you sure that I'll need that!?"

A smug laugh echoed out.

"Don't underestimate us."

Before Shirou could even get a running start, Monoma's voice cut through loudly from behind his prison of rocks.

"Kodai-san, thank you for buying me time– and for breaking your capture tape!" He stated from behind. Even without seeing his face, Shirou could already imagine his expression just from spending a few minutes with him. "I would have struggled quite a bit if you still had it!"

Then a single segment of the wall of rocks surrounding the Class 1-B student shook, before suddenly... shrinking.

He copied Kodai's quirk.

Shirou narrowed his eyes. He really should have gone up the stairs by now, but copying Kodai's quirk without anything to shrink or grow was almost– no, completely pointless.

Something was wrong.

"Are you sure you guys don't want me to stay?" Shirou asked tentatively.

"Monoma and the redhead ain't gonna let us leave," Shishida stated with a grunt. "We'll keep these bastards down here. Go get the thing!"

He really couldn't spend another second to think about it, so he puckered his lips as if tasting something particularly sour, and rushed up the stairwell.

Time was ticking, and Shirou didn't want to waste a single second of it…

… but he wasn't going to leave his team behind without something to help them out. He wouldn't need it anyway.

* * *

Aizawa calmly inhaled and checked his wristwatch.

Before the class had started, Yamada Hizashi or more commonly known as Present Mic had invited him to go to a cafe. He didn't know why his friend asked, but he mentioned that it was getting popular for pro-heroes to go to for their day off.

He didn't get a reason why it was so, but he chose to humor him and accepted only if this joint exercise ended on time.

Based on the way the match was developing, it looks like the match was going to.

Team N, or the Villain Team, had rushed them instantly and confronted the Hero team in the first hallway. He couldn't fault them though, it gave them a small element of surprise to use which overall helped.

"Is that allowed? All-Might-sensei?" Ashido Mina asked as she looked at the big screen. "I thought we were supposed to wait in the weapons room until the battle started…"

"Yes, it is! I'm surprised not many of you thought of doing that," He said with an ever-present smile. "In fact, I'm surprised that young Bakugo didn't do it in the first place. You were required to defend the weapon, but as long as you battle inside of the building then there's nothing wrong with it!"

One could argue that the explosive brat already went to the Hero team instantly, but the brat waited in the weapon room before the match started whereas these students chose to wait near the entrance for an ambush.

Aizawa would give them points for thinking outside the box, ambushes early on do exist during indoor villain encounters – ignoring how rare they are – so this will be a necessary experience for the brats to have.

On the other side of the spectrum, Aizawa eyed the weapon room camera, noticing how Yaoyorozu was leaning on the weapon in the center of the room, gathering her thoughts and resting her head on the barrel of a machine gun.

She had ammo packs strapped to her waist, most likely having been made by her quirk at a relative speed. She had used her preparation time well, better than any of the other Villain teams at least.

Her eyes trailed to the wall and Aizawa's own widened at what he saw when he followed her gaze.

The girl had created a monitor that tapped into the security camera footage they were seeing. She knew what was going on down back at the lower floor.

 _Well played._

"Are guns allowed? Aren't they dangerous?" Kendou Itsuka voiced out, with reasonable concern.

Aizawa himself sent a glance to the weaponry Yaoyorozu and Monoma Neito held as he answered. "Not in this case. If they were real guns then yes, but those are rubber bullets, so they should be fine." He said.

It'd do good for these kids to gain a little pain tolerance. Recovery girl could heal the superficial wounds anyway.

Despite his musings and mild admiration for the tactics that Yaoyorozu developed, Aizawa's mood admittedly dropped as he frowned when the Kodai destroyed a segment of the wall with debris in an attempt to hit a now more bestial Monoma. The hole was up till the ceiling in height.

Luckily there were no cracks that spread across the entire building, she must have held back enough so that it wouldn't do much damage. Or, Cementoss had built this particular building to be sturdier than the rest, which was another likely possibility.

 _Wait… wasn't that brat the one with the copy quirk?_

He was proven right when Monoma Neito crawled out of the wreckage. He didn't even appear mildly harmed, no doubt due to a certain student's quirk, also ignoring any possible childish innuendos.

In the back of his mind, Aizawa was reminded of a certain fellow professional hero that would have laughed her gut out at any possible innuendo she would have found.

Aizawa's eye twitched.

 _Great…_

Just thinking about that hero made him irritated.

Aizawa decided to shrug off the thought and narrowed his eyes on the scene before him.

More specifically, the scene of Monoma shocking the Shishida kid with a taser.

 _Smart._

With a taser, no doubt produced by the Yaoyorozu girl with Monoma's orders, the Copy-quirk user had a major advantage when facing Shishida Jurota due to the student's tendency to lower his guard in battle… something that his homeroom teacher, Blood King or Sekijiro Kan, should work on.

In theory, his own student, Kirishima Eijiro, should have a taser too… yet from what he could see, the boy must have turned down any unmanly weapon, in favor of his quirk.

It seemed that the brat though, wouldn't allow his teammate, Kodai Yui, to be under siege for long. He distracted the Monoma brat long enough for everyone to recover in a large scuffle.

By the end of it, Monoma wounded up trapped in a circular wall of enlarged debris and most of the hero team lost their capture tapes. The advantage laid with the hero team… but time was already wasting away.

If Aizawa measured this right, then if the three on two situation continued, it would take far too long for all of them to reach the bomb at the top of the building… especially considering the traps and wires surrounding the entire floors between them.

 _Well done, Yaoyorozu._

It looked like the villain team's victory was almost a hundred percent assured.

… If only Aizawa was as naive as to believe that.

The brat's team noticed how much time they lost and sent him up the stairway to face Yaoyorozu Momo alone.

 _Now… let's see how you handle the brat._

Aizawa sighed and rubbed his sorely tired eyes. He hoped that this would end quickly. He had forgotten to eat lunch.

It was from this short second that he didn't pay attention that he didn't notice what the brat had left behind.

* * *

Yaoyorozu raised her rubber bullet filled machine gun and leaned on the weapon. There were trip wires everywhere. If she had more time, then she could have sealed the weapon in a cage of iron.

However, she was more than content with the horde of wires in the floors between the top and bottom. Hard work courtesy of Monoma-san and Kirishima-san.

When the tripwires triggered, she would know which corridor Emiya walked through and activate the previously made knockout gas canisters, less effective of course to lessen her overall lipid consumption.

She was glad that she had a full main-course breakfast _and_ lunch. She still had enough lipids stocked up for a full frontal fight left.

 _Everything was going according to plan._

Kirishima was stalling with Monoma. Together they stopped more than half of the enemy team from entering the building. Only Emiya was permitted entry.

She could see from a miniature camera the fight occurring on the lower floor.

Monoma was struggling at first, but he showed proved to be very flexible. They had the advantage in the battle, Monoma had already managed to copy Kodai's quirk, which opened a door for him. With Shishida in his own quirk-induced high, they'd be less likely to be able to formulate a proper counter-attack, especially if Monoma continued to pressure Kodai, the only one with enough brains to formulate a plan.

If that continued, then her teammates would win without a single doubt. They would be able to return here and take down Emiya together.

Everything now hinged upon her making sure that the weapon was not obtained before the right time.

It was hinged on the battle between her and Emiya Shirou.

The silence was deafening to her ears. She gripped her machine gun tighter, looking for any sign of sound–

A shuffle of footsteps to her left dragged her attention.

 _How!? He should have triggered some tripwires, at least one!_

Yaoyorozu got to her feet and leveled the machine gun towards the entrance. She remained silent as the footsteps echoed from the corridor. They were faint, but definitely there.

Sticking to blind faith, Yaoyorozu fired the machine gun. It was deafening and rattled her eardrums, but she was used to that.

Her faith paid off, Emiya having leaped behind a pillar quickly. She could see the sword he made poking out from behind the pillar. She was honestly expecting him to come more prepared. She had already given Monoma a gun so it wasn't unreasonable to assume she'd have one too.

She reached into her pocket and went with the next plan, seeing as her hail of bullets were doing nothing but scrapping the pillar and leaving some minor rubble in its wake.

 _How will you handle this one, Emiya-san?_

* * *

From behind the pillar, Shirou contemplated his options.

He was actually lucky that Monoma chose to ignore him completely to deal with both Shishida and Kodai, but he supposed that they were the bigger threat when compared to him.

From their perspective, all he could do was make swords, which were ultimately futile to use against Kirishima's quirk. Which was technically true, but he didn't want to reveal the fact that he could bypass his quirk, either through black keys or some other weapon in his reality marble, because then they'd target him instead.

He had avoided the tripwires, which were easy seeing as he noticed them glint in the light and with a little help from structural grasping. She had not hidden them well, in fact, they were hidden rather hastily, most likely from time constraints.

However, they were definitely numerous. It took quite a while to weave his body around them all and finding unconventional ways through the hallways, like through some open hall windows or even leaving the building entirely to scale the side of it.

Fortunately at the time, with the added fact that Yaoyorozu had provided Monoma a gun, Shirou assumed she would have one as well, which made entering from the window and entirely too risky venture to undertake.

Unfortunately, it meant he had to take the long route, which lost him a minute or two. It left him with five to finish up the round.

So here he was, behind a slowly deteriorating pillar, being pelted with a torrent of bullets, which would hurt like hell if he stepped out and into the Creation-quirk user's sights.

The pillar was holding steady, but that wasn't going to be true for long. She was going to continue firing anyway, she wasn't going to run out of bullets with her quirk. In fact, he saw a few ammo packs strapped under her legs, which would definitely last her for five minutes straight, or possibly even more than that.

He wasn't safe however, he was under a time limit and needed to get to the 'weapon'. He couldn't do that while under heavy suppression fire. Underestimating her ingenuity wasn't going to help him win the exercise.

 _What was her next move?_

The sound of a rolling canister was covered by the gunfire, but he noticed it nonetheless.

He raised both worn swords and leaped out from his cover as he saw the canister roll out from the other side of where he had escaped. It was a flashbang.

Shirou frowned and tossed his blades her way, hoping that she would stop her rain of bullets so that he could take new shelter.

Throwing the worn-down swords had created the intended effect. The gunfire had stopped as Yaoyorozu dodged away from it, she didn't stumble whatsoever but her eyes were semi-shut.

He managed to worm his way behind another pillar as the flashbang went off. It didn't affect him at all as it was completely out of his line of sight. Yaoyorozu was fine too, having created a quick blanket of steel to cover her vision.

Guns, tripwires, grenades, steel sheets, and of course tasers.

 _She was versatile indeed._

He was about to trace two more nameless blades when the rain of gunfire returned. He needed a permanent way to get rid of those before she created another flashbang, he couldn't just do the same thing again, she would counter it somehow.

… Shirou sighed to himself and traced Kanshou and Bakuya, dulling them slightly for non-lethal attacks.

He had faced worse in the Holy Grail War.

Shirou leaped from his cover the moment the gunfire stopped in time to see a grenade canister held in her hand to be thrown. Yaoyorozu seemed surprised at his decision and tossed the flashbang behind her, this way, only he would be affected by the flash.

At the same time, she raised her gun to fire at him.

When the flash of light came, Shirou closed his eyes to prevent any damage from coming forth.

He quickly opened an eye slightly in time with the resuming gunfire. He saw a bullet fly close to his head, which he avoided. Luckily she was using a machine gun, which wasn't as effective at the range he was at.

He had enough vision to see what her eyes were focusing on, her line of sight, what she stared at, and where she aimed.

His current situation could be compared to his final battle in the Holy Grail War. The King of Heroes' barrage of Noble Phantasms were extensive and hard to maneuver around, but he managed to do it all the same.

Those phantasms were shot at him faster than what he was experiencing now, somehow shot with a bit more precision, and strong enough that he had to strain his reinforced body to parry or block them.

However, he had an advantage in this battle when compared to the one he had months ago.

Bullets were just weaker versions of the Noble Phantasms that King of Heroes fired.

Compared to that life-threatening situation?

This was almost _nothing._

Shirou rose Kanshou and with perfect timing, bent his blade just enough that the bullet flew off to his side, deflected.

If he had used a regular sword then they would have bent from the force of the bullet – or shattered if enough bullets managed to hit it – but these blades were Noble Phantasms, something with no conceptual weight like a bullet let alone a rubber one, was not going to damage it in the slightest.

Although, his arm shook slightly from taking the recoil of the bullet, which was honestly expected. If his arms trembled like weeds with reinforcement against Gilgamesh's treasury, then his arms without reinforcement were obviously going to do the same with the mundane projectiles.

Shirou ignored the small victory and proceeded to focus on the next bullet that would have hindered his charge. He didn't even register the shock on her face as he used Bakuya to deflect another that came his way, and another, and another, and another.

In a flurry – a magnificent display of both skill and agility – Shirou weaved through the hail of bullets, his eyes solely focusing on her form and where her eyes were directed, much like what he did against a certain heroic king.

That success didn't last for long. Even he didn't come out of the King of Heroes barrage unscathed, a few bullets scrapped his forehead leaving ugly scratch marks. He would have been injured more had they been metal bullets, but because they were rubber, he survived that particular blow.

He ignored the pain as he deflected another which would have hit his kneecaps, another which would have injured his collarbone, and another that would have injured his eye.

He rose Kanshou ready to block another when the machine gun clicked.

Yaoyorozu stared in confusion and pulled the trigger, Shirou still a few meters away, but widened her eyes. Shirou noticed it too.

The gun had jammed.

"What!?" She blurted out in surprise.

The only conclusion Shirou had as to why this happened was that Yaoyorozu hadn't fully memorized the structure of a machine gun yet. It worked long enough to be functional but it failed after what seemed like several minutes of consecutive fire. Which was astounding in actuality.

However, it provided a window of opportunity. He would not waste this chance.

Yaoyorozu only had a moment to create a polearm with her quirk before Shirou was upon her. Apart from her being surprised at the speed of his step-in, Shirou noted that the polearm was made well despite it being barren in design.

She managed to block a single blow from Kanshou – with the Noble Phantasm digging deeply into the polearm halfway regardless of being dulled– but Bakuya was still available to use.

Shirou made to slap her arms away with the flat of the blade, but she leaped away and created another polearm.

The hail of bullets had ended.

"H-How were you able to last through the hail of bullets?!" She shouted in confusion as her grip tightened on the polearm. "That's not normal! You should have at least flinched from the pain!"

Shirou remained silent and approached her slowly.

After all… to speak in a battle was a sin. Even if it was just training.

… Team battles don't count.

Shirou bolted forward and used both Kanshou and Bakuya to cleave through the well-made polearm, something that Yaoyorozu seemed to expect after seeing the indent that just Kanshou made alone.

She had let the polearm snap in two but took out something else from her pocket.

A taser.

 _Again!?_

Shirou admittedly did not expect to see one of those and leaped away when she used it – sending the apparatus flying at him. It almost clipped him but Shirou managed to sever the connection with Kanshou quickly enough that he only felt just a bit of shock but not the full brunt of it.

Even if the taser that Monoma had used before was of a different model, Shirou was lucky that he had seen it before, otherwise, there was a chance that he wouldn't have thought to expect it.

Yaoyorozu grimaced as she dropped the now used up taser and once more used her quirk to create a polearm, but this time there was a blade at the end of it.

 _A spear._

Shirou admittedly did not have fond memories of spears. He was killed by one after all.

… However – in comparison to the Noble Phantasm that tore his heart – this was just a run of the mill spear. Nothing notable, nothing surprising, and certainly not able to deal with a Noble Phantasm.

… But beating her without much trouble wasn't worthy enough to be called training. That was why he enrolled in this school. After all, he wanted to become a Hero.

To do that, Shirou needed training.

By the looks of it, Yaoyorozu needed training too. Her legs weren't spaced evenly, her arms weren't gripping the proper places for normal spear usage, and even her eyes were focusing on his blades rather than his person.

He might as well challenge himself a bit.

He let the Noble Phantasms dissipate and traced something else.

A shinai.

As soon as he did so, Yaoyorozu's brow twitched rapidly.

"What are you doing!?" Yaoyorozu exclaimed as she echoed his thoughts. He certainly could feel the disbelief that Yaoyorozu had in her eyes. "A shinai!? Are you underestimating me? Those other two blades would be better than that!"

She was right… but he wouldn't consider this a simple shinai.

"This is a training exercise," Shirou informed. Yes, it was no longer a battle. "I won't improve if I keep doing the same thing over and over… and by the looks of it, you need training in spearmanship."

A miasma started to appear around the shinai. A dull glow, visible only to those who were admittedly prana-sensitive enough to notice it… which, at the moment, was limited to just Shirou.

A cursed shinai by his big sister figure – even if she was a failure as an adult – demanding to be used, wanting to taste the blood of the enemy. Known to those who fought against it as the Torashinai.

Not that it was capable of drawing blood in the first place without bludgeoning. Even if it could, Shirou would not let it. This was only a training exercise, after all.

Yaoyorozu admittedly widened her eyes at his claim and looked at her spear. Her gaze narrowed as she sent another off-put glance towards him. "Are… are you making fun of me?"

"Not in the slightest." He replied honestly.

That honesty seemed to have the wrong intent as Yaoyorozu tightened her already far-too-tight grip on the spear and focused on him alone. Shirou winced inside as he saw her teeth grit against each other.

His act of using a training weapon against her fully lethal one seemed to not be well-received.

Although, Shirou remained stalwart in his decision. This was training for when they would inevitably put their lives on the line against villains, so training was what he would provide.

"Fine! Suit yourself Emiya-san!" She shouted.

She drove her spear towards him.

Shirou didn't even move as he used Torashinai and bat it aside effortlessly.

"That lacked power," Shirou informed, habits from the shinai in his hands dictating him to do so, habits of his dear elder sister. "Steady your footing. Your back heel is too far back."

She gritted her teeth in annoyance and swung the spear towards him. He dodged it a few times, which prompted the Creation-quirk girl to resume that attack and swing the spear once more.

The second time it happened, he admittedly just used his wrist guard to catch the spear. "Spears are primarily thrusting weapons, you shouldn't swing with them around unless you have a firm grip spread across the shaft."

"Are you making fun of me!?" She shouted, frustration somewhat already reaching its peak as her eyes focused on him. "Take this match seriously! This isn't a game!"

It wasn't a game, he knew that the most. It was training, something that would aid them in surviving future battles.

However, training was useless when your emotions were high on emotions and you're close to frustration. Taiga had at least taught him that much when he was younger.

Shirou remained silent and pushed the spear away. He gazed into her eyes and frowned at the fire he saw in them.

She was dedicated, that was for sure, but she didn't seem to realize the situation that they were in.

She wasn't considering his advice, which would undoubtedly save her down the line should she be in a pinch.

Ultimately, Shirou sighed to himself.

 _This training exercise ends here._

He gazed at her prone and tense form, awaiting any sign of movement on his part.

"Fine," He said. "I'll end it here and now."

Yaoyorozu couldn't even react when he stepped in her guard and kicked her gut with steel-tipped boots.

* * *

 _This… wasn't going well._

The moment that Emiya had left, Monoma left her impromptu prison of stone through the use of her own quirk. The whole situation had gone downhill.

He used her quirk on several napkins from his pocket and created a thick and malleable sheet to trap Shishida in the moment he tried to charge towards the Copy-quirk user.

He could get out, but not while Monoma threw a rapidly enlarged single ring of a chain. He shrunk it around her bestial classmate and essentially locked his arms away. Not to mention, the lack of vision.

Which meant he had, for all intents and purposes, been captured by the enemy.

Which also meant, that for the last few minutes, Kodai had been running around the first floor, creating numerous walls with debris in order to throw off her pursuers.

It worked, even when Kirishima would destroy the walls whenever he could and Monoma would simply shrink them.

However, what they didn't notice was the fact that while she had lost them, she climbed up and used her quirk on a very specific part of the ceiling. If done at the wrong place, she could destroy the whole building through destabilization.

Fortunately, all that happened was that she crawled up into the second floor by making a widened hole, thanks to a wire that poked its way through from the said-above floor.

While the villain team searched for her below, Kodai weaved her way through some surprising amounts of tripwires. Those must have been placed there by Monoma, as there seemed to be no way that a brawn-over-brain person like the Class 1-A student would have done it.

"… Damn it!" She heard Kirishima tiredly shouted in frustration from below. "Where did she go!?"

"Be quiet and let me think…" She heard Monoma mutter as he began thinking.

That wasn't good. It meant that Kodai's window for action was closing and she needed to hurry.

With where she was currently, she could get a head start and rush over to help Emiya. It would be a risky play, seeing as they'd be down to a two versus three when Monoma and Kirishima followed her up, but they were running out of time anyway.

Only three minutes remained, and Kodai didn't want to squander it–

… " _To become one, I will save as many as I can."_

…

… _Damn it._

A few seconds later, Monoma managed to spot the hole in the ceiling.

"Damn it! She's going for the weapon!" Monoma came to a realization. He hurriedly tried to flee towards the stairs. "Hurry! Kodai could be helping that sword boy by now!"

It was a reasonable conclusion.

 _However…_

"W-What is this!?" Kirishima shouted in rightful confusion.

Upon attempting to head to the upper floors, the villain team found themselves unable to ascend.

The reason for being unable to do so was simple.

Kodai had sealed the stairway entirely with previously pocketed debris, which was obvious seeing as they were her only method of attack so far. This left her a lot more time to do what she intended.

"This isn't going to stop me!" Monoma declared as he proceeded to use her own quirk to shrink the debris away. The wall was haphazard and highly unstable, which meant that Monoma had to only shrink the ones that wouldn't cause it to fall all over them.

Kirishima aided him in doing so, using his quirk and own physical strength in order to drag away lodged debris when Monoma couldn't.

In the process of doing so, the two of them had been hyper-focused on the wall, so neither of them noticed when Kodai crawled down from the hole she originally escaped from.

Luckily, there where tripwires upstairs. It wasn't hard to change the size of the wires, lengthening and widening it in the process so that when she pulled, there would be no tension to detect whatsoever.

Which left her with the tripwires, free for her to swindle at her leisure. They were also surprisingly durable, at least for tripwires. More than perfect enough to make a way back down.

Without so much as a sound, Kodai landed on the debris-filled landscape of the ground floor.

Both teams were so going to lose points over the destruction, it wasn't even worth saying otherwise.

What was worth mentioning, was the still struggling Shishida trapped by a large link of a chain, wrapped in a blanket and oblivious to what was occurring outside. Even with his bestial strength, he hadn't made much headway with breaking that chain link.

Really, she should have sealed the stairway and made her way up in order to help out Emiya. She had more than enough shrunken debris in her pockets to prevent the villain team from ever using the stairway…

However…

" _You look afraid, so there was nothing else I could do but help out."_

Sometimes, Kodai wondered if she was infected by the Emiya's asinine mentality in some way.

After sneaking her way around the villain team, Kodai gave a few taps to the downed Shishida's arm – alongside a very subtle 'shush' whispered to his ear – her bestial classmate stopped his struggling.

"I'm going to get this off of you," Kodai whispered. "But gently carry it, don't make a sound, okay?"

She saw Shishida nod in confirmation. He was probably going to vocally reply first, but she managed to cover his mouth before he uttered anything.

With nothing else to wait for, Kodai grew the chain link so that Shishida could use his arms and gently push it off of him. He didn't shove it onto the floor though, but instead, maintained a sturdy grip on it.

"Damn it!" Monoma cursed once he saw the numerous debris lining up the stairs, not a single hint of headway being made. "I'm so stupid! Hey redhead, we're going to use the hole that Kodai made earlier. Follow me!"

Kirishima nodded after pushing a piece of debris away from himself. "Alright! Let's go–"

In that single split second where Monoma focused on his reply, he didn't notice the cloth being draped over him by Kodai. By the time he did, he was already covered with it from head-to-toe, with a chain link, carried by Shishida, shrinking around him shortly after.

In that split second, Shishida's prison became Monoma's prison.

"Monoma!" Kirishima shouted.

He burst forth, ready to punch the living daylights out of either of the hero team students. However, with Shishida leaping away with both Kodai and Monoma in his arms, Kirishima wouldn't be able to catch up.

With that short time – and knowing that Monoma wouldn't be able to do anything because either shrinking or enlarging the blanket around him would be a dumb idea – Kodai reached into her back pocket…

 _Thank you, Emiya._

… and dragged out _Emiya's_ capture tape.

Without wasting another second, she wrapped it around Monoma Neito's body. Monoma noticed and let out a muffled cry of confusion, but by then it was already too late.

" _Monoma Neito from Class B, captured!"_

Kodai huffed in relief as Shishida placed Monoma gently onto the ground. She did so once again as she sent a pointed glance to the other student, Kirishima.

"What the–" Kirishima blurted out with his eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't we wreck your capture tapes!?"

At receiving no reply, a frown developed on his face. "Well… that wasn't apart of the plan… Two on one isn't very manly, but a man doesn't back down! Come and get me!"

His head hardened and rammed Shishida on his chin when he tried to charge, which caused him to gasp and reel back in pain.

"I got more where that came from!" Kirishima shouted as he ran towards Kodai. "Take this–!"

" _Hero Team K, WIN!"_

Kodai managed only one blink as Kirishima stumbled at the sudden proclamation. He fell to the ground near her with noticeable confusion.

"What." Kirishima blurted out.

Kodai sighed.

"Good job, Emiya-san."

 _In more ways than one._

* * *

Aizawa sighed while rubbing his forehead.

 _The damn brat did it again._

Running into a hail of gunfire was a straw they wanted to cut off the moment it appeared. The only reason Aizawa didn't go and stop the match instantly was that the bullets themselves were made of rubber. The threat level of it was overall lowered.

Aizawa wasn't sure that mattered when a rifle was used but semantics. What really drove his brain into overdrive was the fact that Emiya Shirou did something incredibly stupid.

 _That brat had run into a hail of gunfire._

That alone was almost enough for Aizawa to call the match. He was going to do it too… that was until he saw the brat deflect a bullet.

That had been the first instance he widened his eyes. He widened them further when he saw him deflect all the other bullets.

Granted he didn't deflect them all, there were a few left behind when you considered he let some bullets hit him in non-lethal places. A good idea considering he only needed to close the gap to achieve victory…

… Except that he didn't even flinch upon taking a hit.

He ignored the stray bullet that scratched his forehead barely, even the one that managed to hit his chest. It was as if those bruises weren't even painful enough to consider.

 _Like with the beast._

Aizawa frowned at that. The brat had willingly chosen to ignore the pain, all because he had already felt pain worse before.

How much pain was his body in before he and the other Professional Heroes arrived to save him?

Aizawa didn't know but it was probably more so than a gunshot, which brought a frown to his face.

The skill he had upon deflecting the bullets was much better to focus on, rather than the perseverance he had in battle resulting from the– _stopping_ _that train of thought_.

The brat had to have been trained to see things coming at him at something comparable to bullet speed. To be able to even accomplish the feat of deflecting a bullet required strenuous amounts of training and concentration, an amount that should be impossible for a teenager at his age.

Not to mention the methods that such training should entail.

Hell, it would be impossible to even attempt when you realized that the only recorded moments when someone deflected bullets were when they had quirks that aided them in the act, or knew exactly where the bullets were coming from.

A machine gun was too imprecise to predict and the brat's quirk – when dumbed down – was basically to make some weapons. The brat didn't fit either category.

This led again to his mysterious trainer, one that the brat must have met recently. One day Aizawa would discover who he was. Perhaps then he could learn the full backstory of the brat, Takeyama Yu would probably want that.

He still didn't understand why she didn't force the answers out of him, something about trust between parent and child or some other thing. He wasn't truly interested in that.

He was interested in hard logic and facts. Those very same facts now told him that the brat can deflect gunfire or at least something at a lesser scale. That spoke of his reaction speed in battle greatly.

Though, that didn't remove the suicidal nature of attempting something like it.

Aizawa took a glance at his students, all of whom had fallen silent upon witnessing the brat deflect a bullet, or rather multiple. Granted he missed a few, but the fact remained.

Seeing something like that – deflecting bullets – wasn't something someone just got over instantly. Especially for the brats before him, who have probably never seen someone do something like it before.

Then again, they lived in a world where feats such as teleportation, summoning monsters made of earth, and telepathy was possible.

It was certainly interesting to see the loudmouth Bakugo fall silent. He surely would have maneuvered around using the pillars as cover, throw some debris her way in hopes that the bullets would stop before rushing her down with swift and painful explosions.

What he was seeing in the screen surely told him that he was outclassed in battle skill. However, if the two of them fought then Bakugo would have an edge with some ranged attacks and a powerful focused explosion to knock the brat out, or at least away.

Then again, there was always that conjecture Aizawa had that the brat would never take anything seriously unless lives seemed to be at stake.

When the brat began toying with the she-brat, Aizawa admittedly did his best to lip read. Thankfully he had just a little training in it to discern one word he used.

 _Training._

He was going to fight in a simulation for indoor encounters between heroes and villains, and use a simple training Shinai.

Aizawa really tried hard not to feel annoyed… He failed two seconds later when he remained stalwart in his decision.

 _That complete idiot._

His conjecture was correct. He didn't see this simulation anywhere close to the real thing. He didn't see it as something to put his all into. He didn't even seem to care that his actions in that current moment deducted points from his overall score.

He was using that moment to try to train Yaoyorozu in battle.

That thought both enlightened and sickened Aizawa. He was supposed to give his all in this training and yet here he is, fobbing around like a fool trying to help others again at the cost of some points in his own individual score.

Luckily, Yaoyorozu didn't have the patience to be manhandled, which prompted the brat to take her out in seconds with a kick. When he went to grab the weapon, Aizawa knew it was over.

He knew he was right, even more so when he saw the brat's teammates take out the Monoma kid in a commendable way. Although, the fact that they did so with the brat's own capture tape, did leave a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.

 _The brat must have left it on the way to the upper floors for his team. That's the only answer._

He turned on his heel and made to the exit, All-Might did not stop him as he was too busy trying to make sense of the match that he had just seen. The display of gun and weapon usage would without a doubt tingle his 'hero bone' in the wrong way like it would in any kind of media.

Aizawa sighed in annoyance.

It was time to drag the other brats back in.

… and give the brat a sorely needed talking to.

* * *

Shirou admittedly rubbed the back of his forehead in embarrassment. He had gotten ever so slightly annoyed near the end of the exercise and just knocked Yaoyorozu out with a kick to her gut.

He would have to apologize to her later, Shirou didn't really want to have somewhat negative relations with any of his classmates.

After 'retrieving' the weapon – which just amounted to him simply placing a hand on the papier-mache imitation – All-Might declared his team's victory.

Shortly thereafter, the rest of the students entered the training room after Shirou had propped Yaoyorozu upon a pillar. He had initially tried to awaken her, but his kick seemed to have proved more damaging than he thought.

Then again, his boots were steel-tipped and he didn't exactly hold back in his attack.

"You guys really did a number in this place…" Kirishima muttered as he took in the damaged pillars and stray items across the floor. He widened his eyes when he saw the taser a short distance from them. "Oh… she made two of them."

Monoma was standing beside him, an annoyed expression barely being held back. "Didn't you pay any attention in the preparation rounds at all?"

He was surely frustrated at technically losing the exercise objective-wise, but Shirou felt that he was sure he wasn't too overly bothered.

From what he could gather, Monoma was beaten by a Class B student, in a very splendid manner, so he had nothing to complain about. If it were Shirou that defeated him, then he would have complained _insistently_.

Not that Shirou would ever willingly choose to get close to the copy quirk user. He was going to avoid him at all costs, hence why Shirou had moved so that a slightly dazed Shishida, who was seemingly recovering from his high-state, stood between them.

The small act of avoidance did seem childish, but no one really noticed in favor of focusing on Yaoyorozu's current state. Kirishima shook her a few times and frowned. "Yup, she's out cold."

Monoma tapped his foot a few times seemingly contemplating before sighing heavily. "Hang on, let me try something."

He approached Yaoyorozu and touched her shoulder, indicating that he copied her quirk. He then rose his hand and watched as a small pebble escaped formed on his palm, confusing the majority of the students with his actions.

Monoma frowned deeply and tossed the pebble away. "Well, I tried to make an air horn… didn't work. She was right about her quirk being hard to use…" He muttered as he ignored the odd look Shishida gave him.

Shirou noticed the glance that the student sent his way. He could only guess that he was drawing the same conjecture between Yaoyorozu's and his 'quirk'.

Thankfully it provided a reason as to why he wouldn't try to copy his quirk in any future inter-class activities.

 _Cheers for the small victories._

"All right, listen up brats!" Aizawa shouted, prompting everyone to turn and find him standing by one of the entrances. "You know the drill, all of you are to return to the viewing room."

"But sensei, Yaoyorozu hasn't woken up yet!" Kirishima exclaimed in worry.

"That's what we have these robots for." Aizawa simply replied. To his left was a very familiar robot rolling towards Yaoyorozu, dragging the room's attention along with it.

It stopped to allow a panel to open up from its chest section, revealing an air horn.

Shirou covered his ears as the loud and blaring sound echoed out, prompting the others to do the same because of their shared proximity.

Aizawa smirked a bit from his safe distance, much to Shirou's annoyance.

Yaoyorozu began stirring from her slumber, evident from the way her brow twitched at the air horn.

"Everyone back to the viewing station," Aizawa ordered, leaving no room for argument. "I'll escort Yaoyorozu back personally."

Hesitantly, the students left the weapon room towards where the rest of the students were. Shirou himself joined them, he was sure that Yaoyorozu would be less than happy if she saw him upon waking.

He'd need to give an apology later in the day.

* * *

Her head ached. It felt like a concussion, but not quite close to one. If she had to describe it, she'd say she was close to delirious.

 _Where was she?_

"We're in the weapons room," Someone answered which stunned her enough to send a glance towards the voice. "The match ended a few minutes ago, the Hero team won."

… _Aizawa-sensei?_

Why was he here? The match was supposed to be –

She opened her eyes in sudden realization. With that, she managed to gain a view of her surroundings. Broken and battered pillars with her as the cause, some equipment strewn across the floor such as a gun and taser, and the papier-mache weapon standing beside her like an overbearing pillar.

Where was her team? They should have arrived here after dealing with the Class B students. The only reason they wouldn't be here is…

"We… lost?" She muttered in subtle confusion.

"You did," Aizawa added. "Do you know why?"

Yaoyorozu thought for a moment as she recalled her battle against the Emiya. She frowned upon the somewhat painful memory.

The memory of his sheer intensity unnerved her. She simply could not comprehend it. As a genius, Yaoyorozu was used to easily understanding everything.

And yet, her opponent, Emiya Shirou, had to have seen all possible trajectories of her attack and solely concentrate on the ones that would, had these been regular bullets, be considered lethal.

It was so absurd that it wasn't even funny.

It was soon after that memory that she recalled being kicked in the abdomen and getting knocked out like a doll. Luckily, from what she could see and feel, it didn't cause any serious injury, a little sore but she could deal with it.

 _He must've held back…_

No, it wasn't even a question. Her classmate had created a mere sparring weapon, even if it felt much like a real one for some reason, and managed to best her in combat completely and utterly.

"I… was outmatched in battle." Yaoyorozu declared.

… _incredibly outmatched._

A few moments passed as Aizawa simply stared at her. "And what else?" He pressed.

Yaoyorozu furrowed her brow at that. "I don't follow, Aizawa-sensei."

He frowned – a regular occurrence for their homeroom teacher but Yaoyorozu could tell that this was different.

He sighed. "Was that all? You were simply outmatched and that there was nothing else you could do?"

Yaoyorozu sent him an odd look before slowly nodding. What was her teacher trying to tell her?

"You underestimated him," Aizawa informed. "In our line of work, that's dangerous. Potentially fatal even."

"I didn't underestimate him, sir," Yaoyorozu said indignantly. "I'm merely aware–"

"–Merely aware of your own abilities," Aizawa repeated with closed eyes, "Yes, you told me that before when I gave you your timetable. However, that was your first mistake."

 _What?_

"Pardon?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Everyone is aware of their own abilities, Yaoyorozu." He supplemented, although he sent a glance towards the somewhat ruined room. "Look around, with your abilities you could definitely do this. However, even Bakugo and Midoriya knew what they were capable of when they destroyed the first building."

He once more focused upon her. "Even the brat was aware of his abilities."

 _Brat? Ah… He meant Emiya-san…_

"What you did was underestimate him," Aizawa reminded. "You may have prepared counters for his abilities – which I give you points for, it was an excellent idea – but you failed to take into account the individual's skill."

"I doubt anyone can account for bullet deflection, Aizawa-sensei." Yaoyorozu retorted. However, it was in a far more quiet tone, one that Aizawa no doubt noticed.

"True, no fault there," He confirmed. "However, when you entered melee range with the brat, you should have created another gun or some other ranged option to keep him away again. Even a flamethrower could have been better – and I know you can make one of those. My question to you is… Why didn't you?"

"M-my spear should have been enough–"

"Your spear didn't accomplish anything against the brat," Aizawa brutally denied the statement. "The brat knows weaponry like the back of his hand. He is trained in both archery and swordsmanship, what made you think he wouldn't be trained in spearmanship when his quirk could also create spears?"

Yaoyorozu wanted to retort with a reply, one saying that he couldn't have known spearmanship if he focused on swordsmanship, another saying he didn't have the time to learn the way of the spear if his quirk records were anything to go by, but all those arguments faded even before they could leave her throat.

"I have no doubt that the brat could have ended it much sooner, but he chose to take the time to try to improve your spearmanship, remember that?" Aizawa reminded.

Yaoyorozu only frowned at the memory. "He shouldn't have done that. It was a training exercise, he should have focused on victory."

Aizawa chuckled, a foreign thought considering how he acts around the rest of the class. "True, he's already lost points with that stunt. However, his actions had some merit. You may be able to make just as many weapons as the brat can, but you do not know how to use them to their fullest extent. So why did you choose to try to fight him at his own game, in a battle of close combat?"

 _He closed the range between us–!_

That was what Yaoyorozu wanted to say, but she didn't even bother to voice them out. She was a genius, so she knew what her folly in that situation was.

She was aware of her own abilities, her ability in creating a vastly more versatile range of items in comparison to the Emiya, and she also knew she could use a spear. That was the thought process she had when she thought about facing him. She could use a spear and so she used it.

However, she wasn't skilled with the spear or any other weaponry that she could create. Guns and rifles were one thing, but the weapons that the Emiya made were another thing.

She had no experience.

She was versatile, but he was far more skilled.

She was aware of her own abilities, but she wasn't aware of his.

Mentally skilled enough to bat aside bullets, practically skilled enough to know what was wrong with her stances, and physically skilled enough to defeat her in a single kick to the abdomen.

He won completely and utterly, she couldn't even argue against it.

Aizawa sighed. "I see you came up with your own answer…" He concluded with a very subtle and nigh-unnoticeable smirk. "Get up, we're going back to the viewing room. You can walk by yourself, correct?"

She nodded absentmindedly as she stood and followed. However, her main thoughts were on the match she had. Someone like her, who had a quirk that required intensive mental effort to create items and use them, had trained himself to use them as efficiently as possible.

She grew complacent whilst he trained. That was the signifying difference between them… It was a difference that she could easily remedy. However, where would she be able to obtain similar training?

"Oh, right," Aizawa muttered loud enough for her to hear. "The brat will most likely apologize to you when we enter the room, as redundant as the notion is. There's no doubt that he'll try to convince you that it's all his fault or something along those lines."

Yaoyorozu furrowed her brow at that. "Why? He won fair and square?"

"How should I know?" Aizawa muttered. "In any case, just get that out of the way quickly so we can declare the MVP of the match and all that. I need a sandwich…"

Yaoyorozu frowned. Emiya should have no reason to apologize to her, not a single reason.

Sure, the gesture of using a training weapon during the exercise – was in her opinion a rude gesture – but she saw no negative intent behind it. He truly wanted to help her train–

… _help her train…?_

There was a thought.

* * *

Shirou sighed in relief as Aizawa entered the room alongside Yaoyorozu. She seemed fine thankfully.

When he returned from the battle, he was greeted with teenagers excitedly calling out his ability to deflect some bullets, ignoring the bruises on his costume in favor of the 'cool' act, much to his dismay.

He did not really like the attention that he got, but he learned from his time in the archery club to smile and wave away the complements.

The intensive glare he got from Bakugo and the calculating stare he received from Todoroki was unnerving though. He understood Bakugo, but Todoroki? Definitely something odd there.

After that, All-Might had already informed him that he should not have been so reckless against a person with a firearm.

He wasn't going to run against someone with a machine gun again, he'd create a reinforced shield next time – ignoring the abhorrent prana cost that it would have.

Once Aizawa stepped beside All-Might, the two of them were ready to declare the MVP of the match. Shirou was without a doubt sure that it would Kodai. Out of all the students, she showed the least indecisiveness and calm throughout the situation.

She had also adapted to fight against both Kirishima and Monoma alone, both of which were her physical betters. Not to mention, rescuing her their teammate and creating a comeback situation.

Truly, she deserved the MVP status more.

Shirou did not waste time and informed Jiro and Sato that he was going to be back in a bit.

He needed to apologize first.

"Yaoyorozu-san," Shirou called, stepping up to her before she could move up to the front of the class. "I have to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to offend you by using a shinai. It wasn't my intention and for that I'm sorry."

Yaoyorozu simply blinked at him, muttering something about how sensei was right. "It's fine, Emiya-san. I have much to learn after all. If using a training weapon like a shinai affected me, then I should train in emotional control." She remedied.

Shirou awkwardly nodded at that. "But still… It wasn't right of me to do so. I should have been–"

"Sensei really was right," Yaoyorozu interrupted which confused him somewhat. "Okay then, if you truly want to make it up to me then you'll do me a favor."

A favor? Shirou nodded at that, he was sure that it would be fine. As long as it isn't anything impossible then he could do it.

"After classes, we'll go to the school's gym and you will help train me in close quarters combat with weaponry."

… Shirou blinked.

However soon after, he nodded without hesitation.

He was here in U.A. to train to become a hero. Helping others in their faults so that they can become a better hero fell under that goal, right?

"That's fine," Shirou replied. "Will we start today?"

She shook her head. "Not today, I'm still too sore for that. We may begin the sessions tomorrow, I hope you do not forget, Emiya-san."

She walked away after bowing slightly. She made her way to the front of the students to listen to the teachers with a soft smile on her face.

Shirou smiled to himself as he walked back to Jiro and Sato.

That was good, he made it up to her. Now all he had to do was train her every day after class, no big deal.

"Holy hell Emiya, did you just score with Yaoyorozu?" Jiro asked, eyes wide in amazement.

Shirou blinked… and then frowned heavily.

He spent the rest of class fervently denying the accusation.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's the chapter + no cliffhanger. Yay.**

 **Honestly took a while for me to write this up when I'm both signing up for my college and writing a chapter for my other story (which will be up later in the month).**

 **FGOJP has the mystery mini-event going on so I'm paying attention to the event story (for the first time in forever). It's actually a very intriguing event to explore. I'm not sure if my portrayal of Yaoyorozu is right, but since I and L33t don't notice anything I'm cool with it. There may be a few complaints about this fight, but it's not life-or-death so I'm not making Shirou give his metaphorical best.**

 **I'm saving that for USJ.**

 **The next chapter will be a 100% less action heavy and more with character dialogue, which should be fun for me.**

 **As always, inform me of minor typos/errors/gripes that you find and I'll try to fix them.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Fixed Minor Errors**

 **A/N 3: After Kohei revealed Class 1-B's canonical quirks in the manga, I rewrote the entire fight scene to be compliant with Kodai's Canon Quirk. In my opinion, it turned out better than the original. A lot more… 'character' was present in it, I think. However, if you think that it wasn't as good, then you can just tell me.** **I'm not personally sure how many bits and pieces that reference the old fight remain here, but if there are any, then please tell me so because I'll need to edit those parts if they exist.**

 **A/N 4: Typo's. Ewie. (Also found a mention of the previous fight in Yaoyorozu's thoughts, which has been removed)**


	17. Chapter 16 - A Mildly Troubled Sword

**Chapter 16**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: Lousgndiner**

* * *

When Shirou arrived at the apartment complex, he was tired.

Not physically – he admittedly hadn't given his all to the indoor training exercise – but just a tad bit mentally exhausted.

Once the class had ended, everyone was sent back to their respective classes. On the way, Monoma Neito lamented the fact that he couldn't use more of his potential – namely using two quirks in an alternating fashion.

If Monoma had been in a battle with people with stronger quirks, then he'd be an insurmountable threat that needed to be addressed.

However, that aspect of Monoma wasn't what Shirou thought of as 'a threat'.

It was the fact that Monoma could have proven right then and there that his 'quirk' was not a quirk. The fact that he was ignored by the pale blond, in favor of his admittedly more physically threatening allies, was a welcome relief.

However, as Shirou had sat down and listened to Kirishima retelling the prior-to-battle discussion he had with his team to their classmates. He learned that the copy-cat's decision stemmed from Yaoyorozu, who explained that their 'quirks' were similar enough that it would be detrimental to copy it.

He was technically in Yaoyorozu's debt. Shirou had dodged a bullet in more ways than one during that exercise.

Although it didn't stop the subtle anxiety he felt whenever he was near the copy quirk user. He just needed to avoid touching him as usual, which would be easy considering they were in different classes.

After that, nothing else notable happened… save for Yaoyorozu asking to be taught in close quarter combat– specifically with weaponry.

Honestly, Shirou didn't mind the idea. If it helped his classmate get better in combat – to help her survive any future battle that their future occupation could bring them into – then it was a worthy investment that even Saber would agree with.

The insistent teasing he got from his small circle of friends was somewhat irksome though, in spite of that he didn't regret that particular choice.

He had chosen to walk home alone this time, mostly because everyone else had been too busy. Jiro deciding to hang out with the other female classmates and Sato having to help his family bakery.

He didn't know what Kodai was doing, but he didn't really want to bother her with anything. He shouldn't bother anyone with anything.

Shirou grabbed a spare key Yu had given him and opened the door to Yu's apartment–

"Shirou!"

It took a second to realize that the voice came from behind him.

 _Yu?_

Shirou blinked and turned to face the sudden appearance of his adoptive mother, sweating and panting.

Did she run up the flight of stairs? The building had an elevator, why would she even… Shirou shrugged the thought process and simply gazed at her in concern.

"Yu? Are you alright?" Shirou asked.

Yu panted for just a short second longer before nodding. "Yeah, all good! Just a little winded that's all!"

Shirou sighed with a small smile and turned the knob. "Get in and take a bath," He basically ordered, ignoring the fact that he was the one adopted, "You're sweating so it'll ruin the smell of dinner. Why did you even run in the first place? There's an elevator."

"I used the elevator," Yu informed,

 _She did?_

"I'm just tired from running all the way here, that's all."

Shirou narrowed his eyes as he stepped inside, "Why would you be running? A taxi would be more efficient if you were far away."

Yu wasn't wearing her costume either so that meant he could cross out 'work' as a reason for her exhaustion.

"I just… lost track of time," Yu admitted as she entered and took off her shoes. "I was supposed to be home earlier and cook us up some grub, but I guess that's not an option now is it?"

Shirou gave her a wry smile. "I'll prepare something quick so don't take too long in the bath."

Yu gave a nod paired with a rough pinch of his cheek, much to his chagrin.

"Look at you, getting all bossy~"

"Someone has to," Shirou pointed out, "Otherwise you'd probably change into a shirt and lay down on the sofa."

This was true, during the months that he had been adopted, Yu had – on countless occasions – rested on the sofa after a hard day's work. It annoyed him to clean the sofa every time she did it.

Half an hour later, Yu stepped out of her room fully clothed and took a gingerly seat on the dining table.

Although, she had a somewhat saddened expression on her face. "I really wanted to cook us dinner today…"

"You should have come home earlier then," Shirou reminded as he set the plates down.

He had cooked a light and quick dinner consisting of mashed potatoes mixed with grated cheese, standard quick and easy rice, and a quick meatloaf made from Yu's beef leftovers from yesterday.

Yu's leftovers, not Shirou's. Meaning what she cooked. Salted far too much so it tasted wrong.

Luckily time had diluted it so grinding the beef with a store bought meat grinder didn't take Shirou much time. Adding a bit of pepper before frying it with butter for savoriness was a quick and easy addition.

Yu pondered his reminder and nodded somewhat. "Yeah that's true, but then Shinji would have been lonely without me there…"

Shirou momentarily had his thoughts recalling a certain purple-seaweed haired Matou. He reminded himself that he was in a different world entirely and that Sakura's sibling was not who Yu was referring to.

Yu saw his confusion. "Oh right, you don't know his real name. When I said Shinji, I meant Kamui Woods. Remember the wood guy from the newbie meet months ago? Yeah, that's him."

Shirou could certainly recall the man from before. He had mainly worn a blue bodysuit with a wooden helmet and other wooden armaments that he could create.

"I remember him," Shirou replied, before sending Yu a quick glare "But wasn't he the one you 'falsely' apologized to?"

Yu nervously chuckled at that. "It's in the past! We're good friends now, we even talked for a while!"

Shirou took a gamble with his next words. "So you talked for so long that you had to run home late?"

Yu coughed awkwardly and looked away. "O-Of course not! I'm a professional, I wouldn't lose track of time like that!"

"I highly doubt that."

"Enough talk! It's time to eat!"

Shirou let himself chuckle as Yu started to chow down. Shirou took a portion and tasted. He could have used some more spices to counter the remaining excess saltiness, but it seemed that Yu didn't care and ate it anyway.

He didn't like to think about it, but the way Yu ate reminded Shirou of his guardian, Fujimura Taiga. They shared a similar demeanor, being loud and lazy adults. That alone was enough to remind Shirou of what he was leaving behind when he chose to stay in this world.

He had not once forgotten about them, his loved ones on the other side. How was Sakura fairing in the archery club? Was Taiga worrying about him?

… _How was Rin?_

Returning to his old world was something he wanted to do truthfully, but in doing so he would have endangered them. One of the few things that his adoptive father warned him about was the mages association.

If they had learned that he came back from a world with people who literally ignore some rules of magic, then he didn't even want to think about what a rogue magi would do to get here.

"Shirou?"

Shirou blinked away his thoughts.

"You okay there? You've been quiet for a while now."

He sent a small smile to Yu, "I'm fine, Yu. I was just reminiscing…"

"… about your past?"

Shirou's smile faded into a small frown as he realized his blunder. He had still yet to form a concrete way to explain his origins to her. That was an impossible venture though, so he shouldn't even try. He didn't want to be thrown into an asylum.

"I know that it hasn't been that long since I adopted you," Yu muttered softly, "but you know that you can trust me, right?"

Shirou let his small frown disappear and sighed wearily. "I know that Yu… It's just hard to bring up."

– _Or think of a worthwhile explanation with no loopholes whatsoever._

"Whenever you're ready to tell Shirou, I'll listen. I promise I won't think of you differently." Yu comforted with a small smile.

Shirou hated the fact that somewhere within him, he doubted it.

* * *

Shirou yawned as he walked his way to school.

He had fallen asleep after the slight awkward event at dinner. It was partly Yu's decision and partly his, both of them were tired and had just wanted a good night's sleep.

Yu's slumber was deeper than his though, which meant he had awakened first and prepared breakfast for himself. He left some for her on the dining table wrapped in plastic for when she woke up, whenever that would be.

You'd think that a professional hero like Yu would wake up early to get a head start on all the villains, but she was still a person and was prone to fatigue. Rest was without a doubt needed.

Shirou's thoughts halted as he caught a glance of a familiar face.

 _Was that Monoma Neito?_

He seemed to be walking stiffly on the sidewalk as he held his school bag tightly in his grasp. His eyes were downcast as he continually muttered something under his breath.

For some reason, Shirou felt that was an odd sight.

From what he knew of the Class-B student, he was snobbish and condescending with little restraint on bragging of his class– mainly by calling his own class names.

Shirou got the same feeling he got from the early Matou Shinji when they were still friends. It seemed like he had a lot to prove even though he was considered an honor student with grades reaching the nineties.

Shirou frowned slightly. He didn't forget what the Matou did to their shared classmates when he had the Rider servant under his control. It was a heinous act that Shirou condemned…

Yet, Shirou could not help but think that somehow, if he had noticed how he was acting or what struggles he was going through, could all of that have been avoided?

He didn't see what the Matou was struggling through before, he didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

Shirou steeled himself up and hastened his pace until he was standing closer to the copy-quirk user.

He should start with a greeting.

"Good morning, Monoma-san," Shirou called.

"What–!?"

It seemed that his greetings startled Monoma as he stumbled in his steps ever so slightly. He sent Shirou a glance and instantly frowned.

Shirou remembered Shinji doing something similar when they first met.

"Oh, it's just you." He muttered in slight disdain, "Come to gloat about your victory? I'll have you know that it was Kodai that beat me, not you."

 _There was that 'complex' of his again._

One day, Shirou would learn what that was all about.

"That wasn't my intention Monoma-san," Shirou defended himself, "You seemed a bit down so I wanted to see if you were alright."

He narrowed his eyes and took a step away. "Why should you care? We barely know each other."

Shirou simply blinked. "Is it wrong to want to help others?"

Monoma opened his mouth to reply but fell silent at Shirou's words. He turned away from him and hastily walked away.

"Just focus on your studies or something," Monoma replied as he turned away Shirou's supposed help. "We're in the most prestigious Hero Course this side of Japan, we don't have time to be focusing on other things."

He took further strides away from Shirou which made replying a nigh-impossible task. Although, when he left, Shirou did hear him muttering some words.

"… _No wonder he's in Class-A…"_

Shirou pondered on what that meant but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out.

"Don't stress over it, Emiya Shirou."

Shirou blinked and turned to face the student who suddenly appeared next to him. "Shinso-san?" Shirou muttered in mild surprise.

He didn't even hear his footsteps. Stealth was truly under Shinso's specialties.

Shirou then remembered that he replied to his words. He was glad that his circuits didn't rage out to expel the foreign presence again, which meant he hadn't used his quirk.

"Good morning, Emiya Shirou," Shinso replied. "Don't worry about him. Monoma is just going through some tough times right about now."

 _So was Shinji,_

Shirou held his instinctive reply and simply nodded.

"He was right, though," Shinso continued, "You truly belong in Class-A."

 _There it was again._

Shirou frowned as he walked side by side with Shinso, "What do you mean by that?" He asked.

Shinso blinked in surprise, which was an odd sight in and of itself.

"You don't know?" He muttered, "That's surprising. I thought everyone knew about it."

Shirou rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I wasn't an outdoor kid."

"I suppose that's understandable…" Shinso muttered in consideration. "What Monoma meant by that, was that almost all the students who are in Class-A couldn't help but throw themselves in other people's business."

"Is that a bad thing?" Shirou asked.

If it was, he couldn't see it.

"It's not an inherently bad trait to have," Shinso continued, "But because of that trait, students from U.A's Class-A have often found themselves with a strong media presence. That means a lot for our shared future profession, right?"

Shirou frowned but nodded. He knew what increased media attention entailed.

Unlike the heroes that Shirou grew up watching, the professional heroes of today had their income solely generated by ratings and government endorsement. If they had media attention then becoming Heroes was almost an assured venture.

Not that Shirou cared about it, he was becoming a hero to save people. That's it.

"Can I ask you a question?" Shinso suddenly prompted.

"Yeah, go ahead Shinso-san."

"What was it like when you fought a villain?"

Shirou wanted to sigh. Shinso did mention that Uwabami told him about it. "Don't you already know?" Shirou asked.

"I have one side of the story but not the other. I like to have the full picture before giving out my judgment." Shinso replied. Given his quirk, he would probably always have the full picture. "So, how was it like?"

Shirou pondered for a bit before answering. "It's not an experience I want anyone to have."

Shinso narrowed his eyes, "Why?"

–He felt Bakuya slice into his side, Kanshou stabbed into his chest, and fragments of blades embedded into his body…

… _and the nut shot._

"… It was a painful experience." Shirou admitted. "He was strong. If I had taken another direct hit then I could have died. He was also fast, it made dodging hard so I had to predict his movements instead. I was only saved from the help of Uwabami-san and the other Professional Heroes."

Yes… he would have died if it weren't for Yu. It was a debt he still felt that he needed to pay back even after all this time.

"Do you regret it then? Do you regret fighting the beast?"

Shirou shook his head, musing slightly from hearing Avenger's epithet. "If I did, then I would be regretting the act of saving Uwabami-san."

He wasn't Archer. He wouldn't regret saving others even on his deathbed.

Shinso smiled, genuinely so from the way his eyes closed. "Then I have to thank you, for saving Uwabami-sama."

"I don't really see the need to thank me," Shirou said, "It's what anyone else would have done." They were in a society of superheroes after all.

"… Somehow I doubt that." Shinso muttered. "Every passing second I can see why Uwabami-sama wanted to recommend you to U.A."

"Since we're asking questions so much," Shirou started, "Why do you refer to Uwabami-san like that? As 'Uwabami-sama'?"

Shinso fell silent but answered anyway. "You do know that with my quirk, it's impossible to get into U.A. normally?" True, it was hard to destroy robots with a mind control quirk, "Uwabami-sama gave me that chance, to prove that my quirk can be used to save lives."

He closed his eyes as he walked in pace.

"Do you know how we met? Uwabami-sama found me at night, using my quirk to make a mugger turn himself to the nearest police station." Shinso continued, surprising Shirou somewhat as it reminded him of how he first arrived in this world.

"No violence, nothing bad happened and nobody was hurt. The mugger was safely jailed. I got scolded for using my quirk but that's normal. She asked me to walk with her, saying it was a heroes duty to walk home a bystander… but that wasn't what she wanted to talk about."

"She asked me about what I wanted to be." He continued, "When I answered to become a hero, she gave me the recommendation instantly. I'm not sure if it was her best idea, but even so, I'm thankful for it. Because of that, I'm one step closer to my dream."

Shirou wanted to say something more, but it was sort of hard to do that after he poured his heart out. So he chose the middle ground and stayed silent.

The silence was only broken by the sudden appearance of a flashing camera.

"Hey, you two! What are your opinions on All Might's classes!?"

Surprisingly, both Shinso and Shirou sighed.

Shirou could see why Aizawa hated media attention.

He then realized he was in Class-A, which as Shinso had said, always had some sort of media attention.

He let out one more sigh.

* * *

"Good work on yesterday's combat training." Aizawa started from his desk in front of the students, "However, there were still things you all had to improve on."

Shirou sighed ever so slightly from his seat at the back. After he and Shinso had somehow evaded the whole brigade of media outlets, they managed to arrive in their respective classes without much issue.

Aizawa sent a glance to a certain pale blond student. "Bakugo, you're talented so don't act like a kid."

Another glance to a certain student. "… And Midoriya, you settled it by breaking your arm again…? You can't keep saying that you can't help it because you can't control your quirk."

Shirou couldn't see Midoriya from his seat but imagined the nervous kid to be somewhat frustrated. "I don't like saying the same thing over and over again. As long as you fix the control issue, there's a lot you'll be able to do. Feel a sense of urgency, Midoriya."

"Yes, sir!"

"Don't think I forgot about you, brat." Shirou stiffened ever so slightly at being called out. "I remember your asinine decision to try to deflect bullets. You're lucky that those weren't real bullets otherwise you'd be severely injured by now."

Shirou was vaguely reminded of the encounter. When compared to the King of Heroes' barrage of Noble Phantasms, it was supremely easier. However, after ignoring the fact that none of the bullets had even remotely hit his vitals, he could still see Aizawa's point.

He'll need to focus on tracing shields in his downtime in order to avoid that situation again.

"I understand that it was a split second decision, but it was still suicidal. Don't make the same mistake twice." Aizawa berated.

There was a lot for him to improve on – Shirou knew that – but he had time to improve. He had three years to improve his skills, plenty of time to learn.

Who knows? Maybe he could get some training from Archer if he was desperate enough.

"Now let's get down to homeroom business." Aizawa continued, "Sorry about the late notice, but today I'll have you all… decide on a class representative."

Again, Shirou felt like he missed some collective thought.

"We're already running late on this, Class-B have already chosen their representatives yesterday. Let's do this quickly and logically."

"I want to be class rep! Pick me!" Kirishima cried out.

"Me too!" Cried out a student, Kaminari Denki if Shirou remembered correctly–

"I want to do it, too!" Jiro declared.

"It's a job made for m–!"

"I'll be the leader!"

"My manifesto is for all girls' skirts to be thirty centimeters above the knee!"

There were just too many people crying out for Shirou to accurately declare what was going on. Actually, in general he just didn't know what was going on with his classmates.

"Let me do it! ME!"

Even Bakugo was screaming out. Shirou felt like there was something vital he was missing here.

Wasn't the class representative role about collecting everyone's assignments, getting everyone to stand and greet the teacher, and generally organizing the class for events?

Seriously, Shirou was missing something here.

"Silence please!"

Like a broken guitar chord, the rest of the class fell in line and focused on the speaker, Iida Tenya.

"It is a job with the serious responsibility of leading others. It is not a job for just anyone who wants to do it."

Shirou somewhat sighed in relief when the chaos around him disappeared. Finally, a voice of reason.

"It is a calling that requires the trust of those around you. If we want to use democracy to decide on a true leader, then we should hold an election to choose one."

Shirou considered the idea to be a fair one. If he was voting, then he already found someone to vote for. The class fell in line rather quickly, the choice was obvious.

He also reminded Shirou of Issei, who was a student council president. If there were parallels drawn in the sand then who was he to go against the flow?

After that, the class descended into a discussion– or rather a debate on if they should go through with the idea. The irony of it, was that nobody noticed how they all fell in line naturally to his voice.

Aizawa of course, didn't care and just hid himself away in his sleeping bag. This led everyone to go through with the voting idea.

All students tore out a piece of paper and wrote the name of who they wanted to vote for. Since there were twenty one students in the class, there was no way for there to be a draw in votes unless there were three people who were voted seven times.

It seems that everyone voted for themselves. The top two scores were Midoriya at three votes, and Yaoyorozu at two votes.

Shirou just realized that he was the only one who voted for him, even when it was the clear choice. Iida didn't even vote for himself.

"I got three points!?" Midoriya cried out in surprise.

"Why Deku!? Who voted for him!?"

"Well, it's better than voting for you." Sero replied.

"What did you say!? I'll break your spine!"

"… One person voted for me…?" Iida muttered in surprise. "That's honestly surprising. I swore I'd have zero votes…"

"You voted for someone else, didn't you?" Yaoyorozu declared from her seat in front of Shirou.

Aizawa sighed as he shuffled his sleeping bag into a sitting position. "The, the class rep is Midoriya and the deputy class rep will be Yaoyorozu."

Midoriya, stood in front of the class jittering in nervousness while Yaoyorozu simply sighed at the act. Shirou could see why, her job will be much harder if Midoriya didn't pull himself together.

Shirou was truly wondering if their class was going to be alright here?

* * *

Their class had ended and lunch break arrived.

Shirou stared at the restroom mirror as he remembered what happened immediately after class ended.

Yaoyorozu, who sat in front of him, asked him if he was still okay with the training idea. He replied that he was okay with the idea, which sent relief through her.

As it turns out, Yaoyorozu had managed to put in a reservation on one of the many gyms in U.A. The fifth gym, in particular, was on the way to their class, which meant that they spent less time on detours.

This all now meant that he had to think of a way to train Yaoyorozu, which he had no experience in. The only training he ever took part in was with Saber, and she would just smack him around until he improved.

Better save those thoughts for later.

Shirou walked out of the restroom and proceeded to walk his way into the cafeteria. Admittedly he had forgotten to make himself a lunch box, this meant that he now had to enter the cafeteria and grab some lunch.

He wasn't really a fan of modern cafeteria food. Back in Japan, most of it was cooked by the home economy club so he was at least guaranteed some delicacies.

Here though? He was sure that they hired a professional hero named Lunch Rush to do all the cooking – Shirou didn't know how that worked at all – but he was admittedly looking forward to the experience.

Perhaps he could learn some recipes? It's been a while since he learned anything new.

This was his first time entering the cafeteria, and it didn't really disappoint whatsoever. There were several rows and lines of chairs arranged in an orderly fashion, enough to fit a couple hundred students.

The kitchen was in plain view so the student body could see the dishes being cooked by the staff, directed by Lunch Rush. Above the kitchen were several more seats.

There were also labels that dictated what kinds of food each section of the kitchen was selling.

Yes, selling. Considering the number of students that the school had, it was a nice and easy way to make a sizable profit. The variety of dishes consisting of curry, katsudon, salmon, and surprisingly nearly everything you can find in a local Izakaya, which was an extreme luxury that U.A. afforded.

Shirou wouldn't be surprised to find U.A. playing host to some cafe's, he knew that some colleges did that. They'd get a share of the profit from the spending of the general, hero, support, and management courses.

"Hey, Emiya! Get your butt over here!"

That was Jiro's voice, she was standing in line with Sato and what appears to be Kaminari Denki. There was also Koda Koji, the one whose body was heavily changed much like Mezo Shoji, but those changes didn't seem to be related to his quirk. Perhaps it was hereditary?

"We saved you a spot!" Sato shouted in tandem, which caused some subtle grumbles to echo out from behind them.

He really did not want to be a nuisance to the once further back in the line, but at the same time, it was rude to decline.

Shirou sighed to himself and walked up to them, bowing in apology to those he passed by.

"Do you know what you want to order?" Kaminari asked, "Oh wait, we weren't introduced yet. I'm Kaminari Denki!"

Shirou already knew but returned the greeting. "Hello, I'm Emiya Shirou. It's nice to meet you."

"This is Koda Koji," Sato introduced, "He's a bit shy so I'm greeting for him."

"Hello," Shirou greeted. He didn't say his name because Koda had no doubt already heard.

"So, what're you ordering?" Kaminari asked again.

"I'll just have some katsudon," Shirou admitted.

"Me too!" Kaminari cheered, "Why is it that everyone else seems to want curry…?"

"Because curry tastes great, nothing like your bowl of turd." Jiro blurted out.

"Hey! At least it looks good, not like your brown paste."

Shirou watched the two banter back and forth with Sato trying to play peacekeeper, a smile on all of their faces.

It was peaceful, the atmosphere of their class. When Shirou was in Homurahara, he only had a few friends that he confided in. Here though? Since they all shared the aspiration of becoming heroes, he felt that he had more reason to share.

Once they had gotten their orders, they shuffled their way to a nearby table above the kitchen.

It was somewhat bare with almost nobody there, which made sense seeing as most of the students were at the center of the cafeteria where they saw free seats.

There was only one table lined up against the railings, it could easily fit all of them and then some.

"By the way Emiya," Jiro said as she interrupted Kaminari's tirade. "How did you do that bullet deflecting thing? I know Aizawa-sensei said that it was dumb but it looked cool!"

"Looks like we agree on one thing, finally!" Kaminari declared as he sat down, "It was wicked man! You got hit a few times but damn it was cool!"

"It wasn't really," Shirou denied, "Aizawa said it best, I could have approached that situation better. There were alternatives I didn't take. I still have much to improve on."

"'Aizawa' eh?" Jiro muttered, "You told me that you knew Aizawa-sensei before, but should you be referring to your sensei like that? The disciplinary committee might come after you for that."

"This school has a disciplinary committee!?"

"Of course they do! All schools have them, fuzz-brain!"

"I doubt they'd react to a small offense like that," Shirou interrupted them before they began to argue again. "Well, as long as I didn't do anything too bad, then it'll be fine." Shirou fell silent and then added something, "We're also in the hero course, so I'm pretty sure that if we commit an offense then we're out."

"Being late to classes has never been scarier…" Kaminari lamented.

Shirou was sure that Jiro was about to say something in a berating manner, but she was interrupted when a familiar voice cut through the atmosphere.

"Hey, Yui! Some seats are empty up here!" A voice called, dragging everyone's attention to the stairway behind them.

Shirou recognized a few of them. Kodai was there alongside Kendo Itsuka. In addition, there seemed to be Shinso trailing behind them with Monoma at his side, they seemed to be engaged in a vivid conversation.

That all ended when they took a seat in the only available spot. Directly adjacent to them.

To be fair, it ended the moment Monoma sent a condescending glare to the majority of their side of the seat.

Due to the fact that Shirou was sat next to Kodai, he heard her mumble about how stupid their current situation was. Shirou was in agreement.

"Um… should we leave?" Kendo asked with slight hesitation, "We seem to be bothering you guys."

Shirou shook his head, "No, it's fine. There aren't any more free seats anyway." A simple glance down at the cafeteria told him that.

"I-I see," Kendo replied somewhat awkwardly. She grew her hand out and smacked Monoma when he started to snicker at her.

"Since we're all in the hero course, I think we should introduce each other right?" Kendo suggested, "I doubt you guys remembered our names from the training exercise from yesterday."

"I'll start," She continued, "I'm Kendo Itsuka, the class representative of Class-B, nice to meet you."

"Kodai Yui, Class-B."

Seeing as no one was continuing, Shirou took the chance so that it wouldn't devolve into an awkward situation. "I'm Emiya Shirou from Class-A, nice to meet you."

Shinso sighed and nodded to himself, "Very well then. My name is Hitoshi Shinso from Class-B, it is nice to meet you all."

"Why're you introducing yourself to them, Shinso?" Monoma said with a hint of annoyance, "It's not like they care about us."

"It is the start of the year, Monoma." He berated, "They have done nothing. We are all aspiring heroes on a level playing field, we should learn to cooperate so that there will be no issues in the future."

"Why do you have to be so logical," Monoma muttered in disdain, "Fine. I'm Monoma Neito from Class-B, but don't approach me thinking we're friends, got it?"

Kendo smacked him in the head again.

"Isn't he a bundle of sunshine…?" Jiro muttered.

As Jiro was about to introduce her name, something more important took hold.

An alarm bell had just echoed throughout the building.

Kaminari panicked, "I didn't trip the fire alarm again I swear!"

"Quiet Kaminari!" Jiro berated, "This isn't the fire alarm… what is this?"

"I… don't know…" Kendo muttered.

" _There has been a level 3 security breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly. I repeat–"_

"Security breach?" Sato muttered, "That sounds serious."

"Probably because it is," Shinso mused in relative calm. He stood and stood over the railings, taking in a view of the entire cafeteria. "Serious enough that all of our 'senpais' are all panicking down there."

Shirou, curious about Shinso's words, stood from his seat and stared over the railings…

 _It was chaos._

Not to the extent that their homeroom was in earlier, but to a far more extreme extent. Students were pushing and shoving each other out of the way to reach the exits. Some of them stood in utter confusion as the chaos ensued around them. There were even a few panicking in hysteria.

 _This was… This was bad._

"This isn't good man…" Kaminari muttered. "It's like a war zone down there."

"They're running around like headless cockroaches." Monoma mused, "What's the use of panicking? Idiots, all they're doing is making the situation worse."

"While I feel the same, seeing as it is human nature to panic, it cannot be helped." Shinso berated, "If we were down there with them, then we'd panic too, following crowd mentality. We should carefully consider what to do next."

"Should we evacuate like everyone else?" Kendo asked.

"Wouldn't it be safer if we stayed up here?" Sato mused.

"If there's an intruder, which is what a security breach suggests, then we should make our way out." Shinso concluded, "What do you think… Emiya?"

Shinso looked around and discovered that the redhead was missing.

Jiro turned to Koda, "Koda, did you see where Emiya went?"

Koda nodded his head and pointed to the chaotic war zone, to a lone figure running against the current and grabbing students in the middle of the torrent.

"… There he is." Kodai muttered.

It was Shirou.

* * *

Everyone was panicking.

There was no order, the hero teachers had all made their way out to combat the intruding threats. Unfortunately, that left the students to panic in disorder.

The students that remained standing in confusion, panic, and hysteria, were helpless against the torrent of students.

Shirou's impulse to save acted up, he had run down the stairs and towards the torrent of students.

He grabbed those who stood still and dragged them to the sidelines where the flooding mob didn't reach so they could sit still and gather themselves. Some thanked him, but he didn't stay long enough and focused on grabbing more idle students out of the mob.

There were a few that were cradling their head in pain from falling over, several more that were rubbing their arms from bruises.

Shirou idly noticed a few other students seeing what he was doing and copying. One, in particular, seemed to be naked as he flew across the mob easily, but Shirou didn't really want to focus on that enigma.

At this rate, much more people were going to be hurt, but what could he do? Shouting for them to stop would be impossible, in fact, it would spur them on to move in a panic.

Shirou could not do anything to stop this mob. Taking the time to do so would take time away from saving those who tripped and were in pain.

He felt… annoyed, immensely so, at the situation.

 _Damn it–!_

"Engine Boost!"

Shirou's head craned to the shout coming from above them, only to find a floating Iida. His leg engines ignited as he spun unstably over the crowd, drawing eyes from the panicking students due to the odd sight.

Eventually, his act of oddity confused everyone long enough to stay slow down, allowing Shirou to drag a girl onto her feet so she can get out of the mob before it moves again.

Iida slammed into the wall and as soon as he did, he screamed out at the top of his lungs.

"EVERYONE! EVERYTHING IS FINE!"

The scream finally shut down the screams of the students to form a tranquil silence. His voice, being the one and the only offender of that tranquility.

"It is just the media! There is nothing to panic about! Everything is fine!" He craned his head to gaze at everyone, "This is U.A! Let us act in a way befitting the best of the best!"

 _There was no intruder…? It was just the media._

At that, a slow sigh of relief escaped the crowd.

 _Relief._

Peace and order were restored just as quickly as it had been destroyed. Everyone was laughing at the situation they had found themselves in before and hastily calmed down.

Shirou sent a glance to the people who he dragged to the sidelines and sighed in relief. They had calmed down but a few needed some minor medical attention.

If Iida hadn't screamed out loud above everyone, then the situation would have been unsalvagable.

"Good job, Iida," Shirou muttered as he walked away back to his cafeteria seat, which was what everyone else seemed to be doing. Some even picked up a few bottles and cans that were dropped in the panic.

"Hey Emiya," Jiro called once he was back at their table. "You really threw yourself out there didn't you?"

"Kaminari and those two other Class-B dudes joined you," Sato informed, but pointed down to the cafeteria, "… but that there seems to be stuck comforting some of the more hysteric general course students with Kirishima."

"We also helped, kinda." Jiro muttered, "A lot of the dudes you grabbed were panicking a hell lot. We calmed them down a bit, but I don't think you saw."

"It was hard work but at least no one was seriously injured, right?" Kendo sighed out in relief, "What do you think, Yui?"

"You should have at least told us before going." She muttered,

Shirou could have, but he didn't. He was far too preoccupied with the people that were still in the mob.

"Sorry, Kodai-san."

She didn't really look like she accepted his apology, but nonetheless sighed with a nod.

"Hey Emiya, Kaminari looks kinda dumb down there don't you think?" Jiro joked.

Shirou stepped up the railings and looked down at the scene. The scene of students happily returning to their lunch with glee, not a hint of worry in their eyes. Kaminari, alongside Kirishima, Shinso, and Monoma, talking and calming one of the general course students.

"No, I think he – they all – look fine."

And Shirou knew who to thank for it.

* * *

Shirou stared at the class representatives stepped up tot he front.

However, he wasn't focusing on that scene very well. What he was thinking about was that he couldn't actually do anything earlier.

 _Why?_

It was what he'd ask himself every few seconds. Iida discovered a way to help everyone out and it worked. Why didn't Shirou think of it?

He knew the reason. Shirou, like everyone else, panicked. However, unlike everyone else, his hysteria came in the form of rushing to the nearest person and helping them.

He knew how to help out others and that was the first instinct he had. Although, if Shirou had been calm and rational like Iida was during the entire thing, would he have done the same thing?

"Come on class rep, start." Yaoyorozu prompted Midoriya.

He still stood as nervous as ever in front of the class, even with her encouragement.

"N-Now, let us decide on the other class officers…" He stuttered out. He soon fell silent and more confident as he spoke the next words. "But first, can I say something?"

Yaoyorozu seemed confused at that, as was most of the class.

"I think… That Iida Tenya should be the class rep after all!" He shouted. He gathered his confidence and continued. "He was able to get everyone's attention in such a cool way. I think it would be best for Iida to do it."

"I'm good with that, too!" Kirishima added, "Midoriya's saying it, and it's true that Iida was a big help at the cafeteria today, right?"

Kaminari chuckled at that, "Yeah! He kind of looked like the person on the emergency exit signs, didn't he?"

"You're wasting time." Aizawa berated from his corner of the classroom. "I don't care what you do, just hurry up and do it."

After a short while, Iida stood from his seat.

"If the class rep has nominated me, then it cannot be helped." He rose his hand up in declaration, "From this day forth, I – Iida Tenya – promise to do my best to carry out the duties of the class representative."

Kirishima gave a thumbs up, "We're counting on you, Emergency Exit!"

"Emergency Exit Iida!"

"Do your best!"

Iida without a doubt deserved it. Shirou was sure of that. He knew he was suited for the role since the start of the day. It certainly took a while for the others to realize.

"Is that okay with you, Emiya Shirou."

Shirou blinked and faced the only student sat diagonally to him. "What do you mean by that, Todoroki-san?"

"I saw you, running around and helping others during that incident." Todoroki recalled, "It's admirable. Wouldn't you want to be the class representative too?"

Shirou didn't even consider the idea as he shook his head. "Like everyone else, I panicked. I just expressed it in a different way."

Todoroki narrowed his eyes somewhat, "If you say so…"

As Iida continued his tirade and elected members to specific roles, Yaoyorozu sent Shirou a hardened glance. It was a simple glance but the meaning was easy to tell.

Looks like Yaoyorozu didn't change her mind.

 _Training it is._

* * *

"It was a success!"

Angra Mainyu sighed slightly from his seat near the bar at Shigaraki's tirade. He had been cheering and chuckling creepily with glee for a while now and Angra Mainyu was starting to get annoyed at it.

He liked the guy, he really did, but sometimes it just got a little too weird.

"We know that already man, just give us some news that's useful." Angra Mainyu berated.

He was also probably the only other person that could berate Shigaraki like that and not get severely injured. Kinda like Kurogiri, somewhat, mostly because of the body he has.

Shigaraki was a man-child, so not even Angra Mainyu was sure he was a hundred percent safe, but he liked pushing boundaries.

"Tch, fine." Shigaraki muttered, "We obtained their schedule, we now know that tomorrow is when they'll be traveling to a place called USJ."

"We strike there, right?" Angra Mainyu asked.

He received a nod from Shigaraki, "Yeah. The next part of our plan is gathering some party members. Kurogiri already broke some of them out from prison a few days ago, but we're gonna need a hell lot more."

"That's one heck of an understatement man," Angra Mainyu muttered, "You do realize we're up against the number one hero, right? Who in their right mind would want to join a suicide mission against him?"

"It's not a suicide mission, Angra." Shigaraki berated, shortening his name for convenience. "Sensei said it himself, he's gotten weaker. We should get him while he's weak."

"That still doesn't change the fact that there is no one who would willingly join up." Angra Mainyu muttered.

"Then convince them." Shigaraki ordered, "Luckily there's a slum with low-level trash in the next town over. Angra, go with Kurogiri and gather as many party members as you can, got it?"

Angra Mainyu just sighed, "Do I really have to? Kurogiri can go by himself, right? Wait, why don't you go! You're the dang leader here!"

Shigaraki was going to argue but the television screen behind them flashed to light.

" _He's right. Tomura, go with Kurogiri."_

Shigaraki sighed and nodded. He acted big, but one sentence from the actual big boss sent him walking.

Angra Mainyu didn't know what those two shared other than a master and disciple relationship, but it was amusing to see every time.

Although, back to the topic at hand.

"What do want, boss man?" Angra Mainyu asked, noticing the screen was still turned on. "Go with them or nah?"

" _I want to ask you some questions."_ He said, _"Your name, do you realize the significance of it?"_

Angra Mainyu snorted and answered. "Yeah, every day I do. This name is just who I am."

"… _So you are saying that you are the omnimalevolent deity figure of Zoroastrianism?"_

"That's the question… isn't it?" Angra Mainyu mused playfully.

" _You know, in some circles, your name means 'all of the world's evils."_ He started, _"Would you be claiming to be that?"_

"I don't know~" Angra Mainyu taunted, "What do you think makes me qualify for the title?"

" _I can easily render you mindless like the other Nomu, Angra Mainyu."_

Yeah, the boogieman of the criminal underworld could definitely do that, especially since his current body essentially belonged to the guy.

"Fine~" Angra Mainyu slurred, he was still slightly drunk from a night out at the club. In hindsight, he shouldn't have tested if his new body had an alcohol limit. "Think of it this way big guy, have you stared humanity in the eye and saw the evil they could commit?"

" _A redundant question, but yes."_

"Then you should know that one day, some assholes thought it would be a good idea to grab a random kid in a village and call him the source of all the worlds evils. The reason for why they stole, for why they killed, for why they raped."

The screen gave no reply so Angra Mainyu continued.

"Eventually, the boy decided to believe that he was the source of it all. He took torture and starvation from others because he believed it was his sole reason for living." Angra Mainyu continued, "At the sweet release of death, his existence had already been corrupted. That village boy doesn't exist anymore, only the one who bares all of Humanities Evils."

"… _I don't even know why I took your delusions seriously."_

Angra Mainyu chuckled, "Who knows? This world has quirks that can defy logic – you of all people know that – so is my existence any weirder? I can give you a taste of what I can do, tomorrow at USJ."

" _If you were not lying earlier then I will hold you up to that, Ahriman."_

Angra Mainyu laughed out loud. "Don't sound so gloomy man! You got something to drink on the other side of that screen of yours?"

In hindsight, Angra Mainyu was playing with the devil.

In hindsight of the hindsight, they were both technically the devil.

Angra Mainyu sent a glance at a sheet of paper on the bar, one detailing all the students of the Hero course of U.A. that would be appearing in USJ.

One name in particular.

"We both need to have fun you know? I know I'm certainly going to!"

* * *

Shirou was admittedly nervous.

Once classes had ended, Shirou had changed into his U.A Physical Education uniform – as they could only use the gym if they wore the uniform or their hero costumes – and walked until he sat at the center of Gym-Five.

The gym was actually quite ordinary, which was a stark contrast to all the other facilities used by the hero course students.

Apparently, the gym was used most by the general course students later in the year during the cultural festival. However, seeing as it was just the start of the year, the monopoly had yet to be set.

Honestly, it reminded Shirou of his dojo at home, albeit larger with much more room.

Shirou idly thought about what kind of equipment they would need, but then reminded himself that Yaoyorozu could just create whatever they'd need.

He was still completely lost on how exactly he was going to train her.

Footsteps behind him dragged his attention. A quick swivel of his head let him see that Yaoyorozu had arrived, five minutes before the actual agreed time.

"Hello, Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu greeted, wearing the same prescribed uniform, "Shall we get started?"

Shirou stood on his feet, "Yeah, that would be a good idea."

A moment of silence passed as they both stood awkwardly, Yaoyorozu rubbing her forearm as Shirou rubbed the back of his head.

"…You didn't plan this out, did you?" Yaoyorozu accused.

Shirou admittedly nodded, "I don't have much experience in training others. The way I was trained isn't really a good reference either," Namely, being battered around by Saber.

"Then why don't we do that and see if that method works?" Yaoyorozu suggested, "How were you trained, Emiya-san?"

"I was beaten around with a shinai until I couldn't move."

Yaoyorozu winced, "I see… on second thought, let's not do that."

"We could still try it," Shirou contemplated, "However, I'd need to hold back and not hit you as hard. We're training for close quarters combat, right? We can train you for muscle memory, to make dodging attacks an instinct."

Yaoyorozu rubbed her chin in contemplation. After a while, she nodded to herself with a smile.

"Let's go with that idea," She agreed as she conjured up a copy of the same polearm she used yesterday, "I'm ready whenever you are, Emiya-san!"

Shirou traced Torashinai and started their 'training'.

* * *

Aizawa sighed from his desk in the faculty room.

Yesterday, he had gone out with Yamada Hizashi, or Present Mic as he was more popularly known by, and his other co-workers like Kan Sekijiro, or Blood King, for a drink.

Yamada had the most absurd idea of going to a cafe at nine pm at night. Luckily, the cafe he had in mind was closed so they had to go to a local Izakaya.

Yamada and Kan drank in moderation, but his damn friend managed to convince him to drink several pints of cold beer.

He had a migraine in the morning so he kept asleep throughout the day, leaving his students to sort themselves out. He taught some classes too, but only passively so he could rest his head.

The situation earlier today didn't help his growing migraine.

He was recovered now, which meant he could focus on his job now. Which meant grading the assignments his students had written up.

 _Joy._

"Yo Eraser," Yamada called from his desk, "You got an eraser?"

"I'm going to gut you, Yamada."

Yamada laughed out loud, "Okay but seriously, are you ready to head to USJ?"

"The documents were signed so yes, my class is ready," Aizawa answered.

"Bringing Class-B with you or nah?" He asked.

Aizawa sighed at the question. His friend had a valid point, though. Since Class-A and Class-B collaborated for their first lesson, it would be fair to assume that the same would be true for future classes, right?

 _No, not really._

"No," Aizawa answered, "Kan has his timetable and I have mine. The USJ trip doesn't overlap so we're not doing that, it would be irrational."

"Okay then…" Yamada sighed.

Aizawa knew that Yamada was a chatterbox. He took joy in small talk, which meant that it was likely that his age-old friend would continue the conversation in a short bit. Their chemistry as friends was odd for that reason.

Although, Aizawa did wonder what was causing him to remain silent for so long, nearly a minute had passed. For anyone else, it would have been normal, but on the professional hero whose quirk relied on him using his vocal chords – it was very odd.

"Hey, Eraser," Yamada called once more, proving to Aizawa that he would talk again, "What do you think about the incident today?"

… So that was what he was thinking about.

Aizawa halted in his work and narrowed his eyes. "It was planned. The wall is hard to destroy without superior firepower. I know that the media isn't able to break through it– especially with the quirks they have at their disposal," Heroes had full access to the quirk registry, which allowed them to check which one of the intruders could have pulled it off.

None of them had a quirk suited to it, which meant they had outside help.

"Somebody helped them, but if they broke through it with brute force then we'd notice," Aizawa continued, "This means that whoever broke the gate could have a disintegrating power, already terrifying to think about."

"So a villain then…" Yamada concluded, "Which villain do you think it was?"

"I have a few ideas…" Aizawa mused, he looked at one photo in particular, of the remains of the chains that kept a certain criminal in place. "However, I'm hoping to be wrong."

Yamada sent him a glance and frowned once he saw what photo Aizawa was focusing on.

"The Beast, right?" Yamada muttered, "You think that it was his doing?"

"If it was, the motive is there," Aizawa answered. "Most villains are petty, so he'd probably want revenge against the brat."

And by the word brat, Yamada instantly knew Aizawa was talking about a certain sword-wielding student.

"It doesn't fit the Modus Operandi." Yamada countered, "The beast, or at least what the media reports said, attacks in dark alleys out of sight. This is in broad daylight, absolutely two different methods."

"That is exactly why I'm hoping that I'm wrong," Aizawa concluded. "Enough about this. Focus on your papers, Yamada."

"Fine, fine!" Yamada replied. He then took a glance at his watch, "Damn, I have to go to my agency now. I don't know why I decided to become a teacher. The doubled paperwork is killing me man."

Aizawa chuckled once as his friend stacked his papers on his desk and left, "It's because you like teaching, Yamada." Aizawa muttered, knowing that Yamada heard him anyway.

If his friend hadn't been a professional hero, then Yamada would have been a teacher, without a doubt.

Aizawa spared one more glance at the photo and frowned.

… He truly hoped he was wrong.

"Aizawa-kun, can we chat for a bit?" Called a recognizable voice.

Aizawa knew that voice well. He sighed and shoved the pictures in a drawer. Knowing the number one hero, he would be out and about trying to find the villain if one of his precious students could be in danger.

All Might needed to conserve his power – or at least what remained of it – Aizawa knew that.

"What is it, All Might-san?" Aizawa asked.

He sent a glance towards the small and decrepit form of the number one hero. No reason to keep secrets here, the entirety of the U.A. hero course teaching staff knew about All Might's current predicament and why he appeared in the school.

A successor, that was what he was looking for. Aizawa didn't know who, but he had inkling suspicions that it was a certain nervous wreck.

"I'd like to talk to you about one of our students," All Might told him, "His name is Emiya Shirou, I believe,"

 _What did the brat do this time?_

"Yes, seat number twenty-one," Aizawa confirmed, "Has he done anything to earn your concern?"

"Well…" All Might started, "It's about his indoor mock battle results from yesterday."

Aizawa nearly had a migraine at remembering that event.

"If you are talking about his asinine decision then do not worry," Aizawa replied, "I've already scolded him for it."

"No, it's not that exactly," All Might said a little hastily, "I was just a little bit interested in him, that's all."

"For what reason?"

"A person shouldn't have even considered running against bullets with just a pair of swords."

Aizawa frowned, "So it is about his asinine decision,"

"No, not completely," All Might admitted, "Other than young Midoriya, I do not see why young Emiya would choose to do something like that."

"Midoriya, huh…?" Aizawa muttered, "You are referring to his indoor battle results, the relationship that Midoriya and Bakugo have for each other, correct?"

"W-well… yes," All Might admitted, "Young Midoriya had something to prove to both himself and young Bakugo when he performed his own 'asinine decision'. I was wondering if young Emiya had something of his own to prove."

"Nope," Aizawa retorted, "The brat is just an idiot. I don't know what went through his head but it won't happen again. If there was something he wanted to prove then I wouldn't know it. You'd better ask Mount Lady if you want to know more."

All Might widened his eyes in realization.

"Oh, that's right! She was the rookie that adopted a kid." He closed his eyes in contemplation, "Could he be trying to meet her expectations…?"

"No chance in hell."

"Well, if you say so Aizawa-kun." He turned to walk away, "I guess there's nothing to worry about. Young Emiya won't try something like that again, right? Then everything's fine."

Yes, as long as the brat didn't do anything stupid tomorrow, then it was all fine.

"I'll see you at USJ tomorrow, Aizawa-kun!"

"Take care, All Might-san."

Yes… everything was going to be fine.

It was just a training exercise. Even if the brat pulled something stupid like he did during the entrance exam, Aizawa would be there to stop anything from getting too bad.

Yes, everything was going to be just fine.

* * *

The spar didn't even last a minute.

Shirou had knocked her guard away without help from reinforcement and managed to land a clean blow to her side.

Following that were multiple attempts of Yaoyorozu trying to block various attacks, most of which succeeded, but failed on the following attacks almost all of the time.

This continued on for nearly thirty minutes until her body gave out to exhaustion. However, she was getting better. Some attacks that were meant to hit her head had to be redirected to her side and vice-versa on the second attack.

Although, it wasn't that much of a notable improvement. She truly was unsuited to close combat.

"Are you okay, Yaoyorozu-san?" Shirou asked as he knelt down.

She was currently sprawled out on the gym floor with her polearm held loosely in her left palm. She was also panting slightly from exertion

Then again, Shirou was also pretty bad at it before he started training. He only started

"Y-yes, Emiya-san!" She struggled to breathe out, "I'll just need a minute to rest."

"Then let's do that," Shirou said, "Should we go over what you did wrong?"

"That'd be a wonderful idea." She admitted.

"Where to start…" Shirou mused, "First of all, your blocking wasn't that good. There were openings everywhere, but that's a minor mistake that can be improved upon later."

"R-right…"

"However, the biggest mistake you had…" Shirou muttered, "I think it's better to demonstrate. You can still stand up, right?"

Yaoyorozu nodded and stood up with some effort.

"Try to block my attacks, Yaoyorozu-san,"

Yaoyorozu nodded and grabbed her polearm. She held it firm with both hands as Shirou threw Torashinai forward with surprising speed. Her stance in blocking wasn't much better than yesterday, but there was an improvement in the leg department.

The defense didn't mean anything as the second attack had hit her anyway.

"I couldn't block you, Emiya-san." Yaoyorozu muttered, "However, I knew that was going to happen already. What was the point of that?"

"Now try to block me again, but look at my eyes."

Yaoyorozu blinked at the order but followed it. She focused on his amber-colored eyes as they tilted down ever so slightly.

She didn't know what happened next, but she found the sound of his shinai hitting her polearm to be satisfying.

She kept in mind to focus on his eyes and noticed them twitch slightly as if focusing on her midsection. Yaoyorozu flipped her polearm and parried the thrust meant for her midsection.

She… she had blocked the second attack!

Her inner celebration was cut short as the shinai tapped her head somewhat roughly.

"You lost focus near the end there, but did you see what you were doing wrong earlier?" Shirou asked.

Yaoyorozu stared at the polearm in her hands and nodded, "I see what you were getting at Emiya-san."

"You have okay reaction speed, but it's lowered when you only look at the weapon." Shirou explained, "If you look at the attacker's expression and gauge his intent instead, you'll be able to block attacks sooner and better…"

She continued to stare at her polearm and then focused on Shirou. "… but I still need to get better, right?"

Shirou nodded with a smile, "Yes, this is one of the better ways to block an attack, but there's also another thing to keep in mind."

"Which is?"

"Try to block me again."

Yaoyorozu stiffened and focused on Shirou once more. He was aiming for her left side, so she raised her polearm to block it.

She succeeded in the endeavor, although her arms strained against the force somewhat. She needed to focus again on where he wanted to hit next! Yaoyorozu took a glance at his eyes to see it–

 _The right shoulder!_

Even as she rose her polearm to block it, she was unable to stop the next hit from hitting her shoulder.

Her left shoulder.

"Did you see it?" Shirou asked, "How this method could backfire?"

Yaoyorozu nodded, "I blocked too early, which made it an opening. You used a feint, am I correct?"

"Correct," Shirou confirmed, "That's one of the other things you need to be wary about in close combat."

"There are certainly a lot of things to keep an eye on during battle," Yaoyorozu sighed and held her polearm to her side loosely, "You said that this was similar to how you trained, am I correct?"

Shirou nodded with a tad sheepish smile, "A little similar, there wasn't a lot of explanation compared to this session but it was still very enlightening,"

"In what way?"

 _How easy it was for him to have died._

"How easy it is for someone who knows what they're doing to defeat me," Shirou told her. "Someone with experience usually triumphs against those with power and versatility alone."

The King of Heroes had both power and versatility in abundance, yet Shirou managed to triumph over him in battle. It was a close match, one that could have likely ended with Shirou's own demise.

However, Gilgamesh's own arrogance had dragged him to his downfall. If the king had even the slightest knowledge of how to use those noble phantasms in a fair battle instead of as bullets…

… then it was equally likely that Shirou would have likely died.

She frowned at the statement and sent her gaze just a little downcast, "Like I was yesterday, I suppose."

Shirou frowned awkwardly at his unintentional jab, "My apologies, Yaoyorozu-san. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it was a good wake-up call for me." Yaoyorozu admitted, "I could have learned that lesson sometime in the future, but sooner rather than later I suppose."

"We have three years in the hero course to improve, Yaoyorozu-san." Shirou reiterated for her, "There's really no need to get better quicker."

… Although, the intruder detection alert from earlier today was something to be wary about. Perhaps he should up his own training?

"I suppose you are right, Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu sighed out, "Are you truly sure that you aren't one of the recommended students? You seem like someone who'd make it in quite easily through that method."

"Well… I certainly could have been," He admitted, "–but then Shinso Hitoshi wouldn't have made it to the Hero course, so I'm happy with how that turned out."

"I-I see?" She awkwardly muttered.

Yaoyorozu sent a glance to the side where a digital clock was embedded into the wall. It was a luxury that U.A. could afford for even their most average of gymnasiums.

"It looks like our gym reservation is going to end soon, I only booked for thirty minutes." Yaoyorozu muttered, "That's unfortunate. Shall we continue this again tomorrow?"

Shirou nodded, "That sounds like a good idea, I still have homework to do."

Not that he'd struggle much, most of the material he had already learned a few years ago in Fuyuki. He didn't have that much of a hard time remembering once he had a refresher.

"Well then, I'll see you in class tomorrow. Goodbye, Emiya-san."

Shirou spared a polite smile as she left. "Goodbye, Yaoyorozu-san."

As she left, Shirou was left to his own thoughts.

Well… for the first session of training, it went pretty well. He managed to impart some knowledge to Yaoyorozu so it was apparent that the session was not going to be in vain.

In honesty, Shirou wanted to continue and spar further with Saber's training method. It seemed to be doing the trick better than anything that Shirou was focusing on.

Maybe they'd work on her polearm stances tomorrow? Shirou considered the idea and nodded to himself. It was a good idea, so it was what he was going to do.

After all, they had three years of their hero course to go through.

There was no reason to rush, no reason at all.

* * *

 **A/N: I finally got this chapter out. My first year of college has just started and I'm uploading this at 9:10 AM when my first class for the day is soon at 10:00 AM. Wonderful, truly. In honesty, in was hard writing this chapter. I really had to put aside a day to just sit down and just write. So I took a day and wrote for five hours straight. L33t called it spartan training.**

 **I've spent a while trying to get the flow of events right, but one thing I got confused on was whether Iida becoming class representative happened on the same day that USJ occurred. I decided it would be better, narratively, to be safe and split it. This day has next to no fight scenes, purely conversational. In other words, a transition chapter than covers some canon events in a somewhat different perspective and outcome.**

 **You know what's coming after this chapter, USJ!– Next month, which is going to be a bitch to write. I have so much to juggle for that.**

 **On the bright side, I have brilliant ideas for what occurs AFTER the scene that the BNHA anime is currently covering, so no worries there. It's the tournament arc and Stain arc that somewhat worries me with how I'm going to handle. My draft isn't too detailed on those scenes but I'm sure L33t will be able to help me there.**

 **He'll participate btw, but not really give his all. He's going to only be in it because Yu is telling him to be there rofl.**

 **Oh yes, the anime. Bakugo bursting in a rigid position in a fluid animation cut was honestly fucking fantastic. I don't really think it's a bad choice, it displays how Bakugo made a split second decision to burst his way towards Kirishima. If he had done that earlier to escape by himself, then the villains would have caught up. I also imagined the process on what would happen if it was Midoriya that reached out to him. Bakugo would be fighting an inner war with himself to decide whether to accept it or not, which leads to hesitation.**

 **Masterful storytelling on Kohei's part and exceptional visuals from studio bones. Hype for that next episode though, it's through the roof.**

 **As always, just leave a review on inconsistencies or mistakes that I knowingly could have made.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Fixed Minor Errors.**


	18. Chapter 17 - Unforeseen Swords Judgment

**Chapter 17**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

"Don't move, this might hurt."

Shirou nodded as the locally dispatched police technician held his ankle tracker.

After he returned home from his training session with Yaoyorozu, Yu had appeared and dragged him to the local police station to get his tracker removed.

His probation period had ended, which meant that he no longer needed to wear the thing. It wasn't intrusive at all, it was somewhat comfortable actually, but it restricted his movement.

He was eager to get rid of it if only to allow himself some freedom of movement around the city. As long as he didn't do anything that could be reprimanded then he won't have to wear it again.

He did have to promise the police though, they didn't want him going off and fighting villains, without supervision, seeing as he was a student at U.A. now.

From within the police infirmary, Shirou let out a sigh of relief as the chilling touch of air returned around his ankle. He gave it an experimental stretch forwards and back, relishing in the newly acquainted freedom it gave.

"That's done and dusted. We can leave now, right?" Yu asked with a smile.

"Everything seems in order, we'll be by your home later to remove the other part of the tracker." The officer supplied before standing to leave, "Have a good day you two, and no getting into trouble young man."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to keep him safe!" Yu cheered out, but the officer barely gave acknowledgment. Probably for the best, they were all pretty busy as of late with the escaped villains about.

Not that Shirou knew that, thankfully. Yu didn't want him running out again to a life-or-death party with villains.

Shirou and Yu exited the police station and started making their way home. It was sort of familiar to the two of them, not that it was unwarranted. The two of them truly remember the day that they met.

It was the day that Yu found a weird and quiet kid, it was the day that Shirou found out what a professional hero was, and it was the day that they first got to know each other.

Walking down the same street from a few months ago, but with their relationship transformed from simply guardian and suspect, into mother and child.

Granted he was adopted, but it was still surreal, to say the least.

It didn't take long for them to make it to their apartment, even though the daylight had all but faded with the peaceful night sky taking its place.

"Should I cook something quick?" Shirou suggested as he took off his shoes.

"It's okay, I prepared something before we left. The beef should be done marinating by now!" Yu exclaimed in excitement as she made her way into the kitchen.

Shirou chuckled, "I hope you didn't get the salt and sugar confused, again."

The first time it happened, Shirou had berated her for a solid hour. Sugar was good on meat because it was a natural tenderizer, used to prevent the meat from becoming too chewy once cooked. However, considering the fact that she had used a whole jar of the substance…

It wasn't a pleasant experience, to say the least.

"I didn't Shirou!" She said, scandalized. "I learned from last time!"

"For your sake, I hope so," Shirou muttered as he made his way into the dining room. "Otherwise I'd reconsider your kitchen privileges."

"I own this apartment you know? I can kick you out." Yu muttered bitterly as she placed the beef steak at the center of the table.

"We both know you wouldn't do that." Shirou snickered.

"You've been getting a little too chipper with me lately, young man." Yu berated in an attempt to be a scolding mother, which didn't really work. "I'm not sure whether or not I like it…"

"It might have something to do with the 'alterations' you made to my costume design." Shirou informed, "Why did you change the color scheme?"

"You don't like it?" Yu asked in mild surprise, "The colors fitted you well so I just went with it. I can't really imagine your hero costume in other colors now."

"It was pure black for a reason," Shirou informed, "It helps with stealth missions and such."

Yu snorted, "Yeah I guess, but unless you're planning on becoming a hero with Aizawa's work ethic, then you need to be more flashy! Look at my costume, it's colorful and effective!"

Shirou was sure it was just her quirk that was effective and not her clothing.

"I'm still displeased with that decision, Yu."

"And I'm displeased with your fashion sense. I swear, all boys have terrible taste." Yu complained, "Besides, you can change your costume design in the future. If you don't like the coloration then I guess we can change it, even if that'd be a terrible decision."

Shirou had to suppress the need to berate.

"By the way, Shirou," Yu called, interrupting his thoughts before they could even begin. "I heard your class was going on a field trip tomorrow."

Shirou blinked as two rice bowls were set on the table. "We are? I don't think Aizawa told us yet."

"He didn't?" Yu muttered in surprise before rubbing her chin, "Oh right, I was supposed to keep it a secret. Damn…"

Shirou felt his eye twitch, "Why would you keep that a secret? It sounds counterproductive. Aren't we supposed to be informed of trips days in advanced?"

Yu shrugged, "Yeah, that's true for the general course students. However, remember that you're in the U.A. Hero course now. You need to be prepared for unexpected variables!"

"A lesson that I can't learn because you gave me a warning."

Yu flinched and whistled slightly. "Oh look, a steak! I wonder how that got there? Well, we shouldn't let it go to waste, hurry up and eat!"

Shirou chuckled and smiled softly to himself. Well, at least he knew what to expect tomorrow.

Shirou took a bite out of the meat and frowned.

Yu had marinated it correctly… but she had screwed up the seasoning. The salt seasoning was non-existent and only the pepper remained, at a substantial amount, which meant that the steak was heavily… spiced.

It took a while for both of them to finish the steak.

* * *

"For today's hero basic training," Aizawa started from his podium, "It's turned into a class with three instructors. All Might, me, and one more person."

Shirou sat in his seat at the back without much confusion when compared to his surrounding classmates. Yu truly butchered any surprise factor he'd be having.

At least he'd be surprised at what the field trip was going to be about.

"Excuse me! What'll we be doing?" Sero shouted from his seat.

Shirou swore he saw Aizawa smirk in somewhat childish glee as he fished out a white card from his pocket and displayed it to the class. It said 'RESCUE' in big, blue, and bold letters.

"Disasters, shipwrecks, and everything in between. It's rescue-training."

A wave of quiet yet excited murmuring flooded the class. Shirou was pleased to see that they were excited as he was.

Rescuing was the essence of a true hero, protecting lives and safeguarding the individual's hopes and dreams. It was what Kiritsugu did for him, even when he didn't have a hope or dream at the time.

"Looks like it'll be a lot of work this time, too…" Kaminari muttered with a wry smile.

"Idiot, this is the duty of a hero!" Kirishima berated from behind him and Shirou couldn't disagree. "My arms are ready to rumble!"

"No one can beat me in water, ribbit."

At the frog girl's words, Asui Tsuyu if Shirou remembered correctly, Aizawa coughed to retain everyone's attention. "Hey, I'm not done. You can decide if you want to wear your costume or not this time. Because there are probably costumes that limit your abilities, too."

To Shirou's side, the walls extended to reveal their hero costumes in their respective suitcases. "The training will take place off-campus, so we're taking a bus. That is all, start getting ready."

No one really delayed and went to grab their costumes, except for Midoriya who sat in his seat for a while with a fist clenched.

Shirou paid no heed to it and grabbed his costume case once more. Inwardly he was debating on the benefits of wearing it and the possible downsides of not.

Unfortunately, he found more pros for his knock-off Archer outfit than cons. His personal distaste giving way for efficiency to take a stand.

Another day to wear the Archer costume.

Shirou truly disliked it.

Within a few minutes of changing, Shirou made his way out of the classroom.

"Emiya?"

Shirou swiveled and caught the sight of Shinso sending him an odd glance, still in his uniform. Class-B seemed to not be getting the disaster training just yet, unfortunately.

Behind him was Monoma with a frown, Kendo with a smile, and Kodai without either.

"Hello!" Kendo greeted, "Where're you going in that outfit?"

"Class-A is having rescue training off-campus, we could wear our costume if we wanted." Shirou informed, "Is Class-B having the same soon?"

"Not to our knowledge," Shinso said, "However, now we can expect that we will. Thank you for the information, Emiya."

"I guess Class-A students are good for some things…" Monoma muttered, earning a small smack from Kendo, luckily without enlarged hands.

Shirou felt something within him twitch at the realization that he had ironically committed the same blunder that Yu did.

"Emiya, hurry up to the main entrance!" Jiro shouted as she raced down the hall, with Sato on her tail.

"Well then, have a good day you guys," Shirou offered as he left.

"See ya later Emiya!" Kendo shouted, "Good luck with the training!"

"Good luck," Kodai said.

Shirou smiled their way and made his way to the main entrance.

It didn't take long so Shirou stood outside with the rest of the students, awaiting the arrival of the bus. It seemed that everyone elected to use their costumes, save for Midoriya.

Shirou could understand why. He knew it was ripped and battered from last time.

"How unsightly…" Shirou heard Yaoyorozu muttered as she covered her mouth, sending a glance at the shortest one in their class, Mineta Minoru… who was looking up Uraraka's rear?

After a quick step to move in between Uraraka and Mineta, much to the smaller boy's dismay, Iida blew a whistle up ahead, the bus right behind him.

"Class 1-A, gather around! Form two lines by your student numbers in order to make boarding the bus go smoothly!"

Shirou smiled, they had chosen their class representative correctly.

* * *

"… I didn't think it'd be this type of bus…" Iida muttered.

Compared to the common and traditional bus, which had chairs facing the front to save space, this one instead had chairs off to the side facing each other with a few more chairs at the back facing the front.

There was a lot of space, surprisingly.

"There was no point, huh?" Ashido Mina said from Iida's side.

Shirou himself sat at the center of all the rear seats. Sero and Shoji being to his right and Uraraka and Yaoyorozu to his left.

He had boarded the bus rather late so most of the other seats were filled. He basically had the remainder seat, which he found no issue with, even if he'd rather be in one of the center seats. There was more space there to react to trouble.

"What the hell!? You wanna fight!?" Bakugo roared from his seat, Jiro flinching away nervously beside him.

Kaminari snickered and pointed a finger the pale blond's way, "We haven't known each other that long, so it's amazing that everyone already knows that his personality is crap steeped in sewage."

"What's with that vocabulary you bastard!? I'll kill you!"

Shirou just sighed and rubbed his forehead. Even as they were going to a place where they'd have to behave, his classmates were still acting like children.

He hoped that they'd mature somewhat already, if only so that they'd learn that being a hero was not a game, far from it.

"What a vulgar conversation…" Yaoyorozu muttered from her seat.

"But I like stuff like this, too!" Uraraka claimed with her usual bubbly expression. "What about you, Emiya-san? What do you think?"

"What I think?" Shirou had to blink at the sudden inclusion. He took a while to consider his answer, "I suppose that Bakugo-san could work on his attitude."

"I don't want to hear that from you!" He shouted in continued anger.

"Oh yeah, weren't you two tied for first?" Kirishima mentioned offhandedly. "How did that happen? I don't think you can use swords to destroy that many robots."

Bakugo fell silent and sent a narrowed glare his way.

 _Terrific, thank you Kaminari._

Shirou sighed as he proceeded to answer, "It's not like that. I only ended up passing by obtaining enough rescue points."

"Oh yeah, kinda forgot about that." Kaminari muttered in minor embarrassment, "I guess you and Bakugo aren't very equal now, right?"

"Damn right you are!"

"Just like how I'm right about your shitty personality."

"That's it! I'm fucking throwing you off this damn bus!"

"As much as it'd entertain me to see that, I'd advise against it." Aizawa called loudly, "We're here! Stop messing around, brats!"

"Yes, sir!"

Shirou sighed as the class quietened down and sent a glance out the window. A giant dome of concrete and glass was there, overbearing the surrounding area with its sheer size, breaking past even the tallest native canopy of trees.

Rescue training had begun.

* * *

Yu sighed as she sifted through the paperwork in her office.

Sometimes she hated her job. She loved the fact that she saved people from villains and contributed to protecting society as a whole, but she truly disliked the amount of paperwork that came with it.

She wondered how the rest of the Newbie Heroes handled the paperwork, did they do it like her, namely offloading half of it to her secretary, or did they do it all themselves?

Then again, most beginner heroes don't have as much paperwork as she did.

Pamphlets from organizations around Japan, invitations to join parties exclusive to well-beloved heroes, and even a few birthday invitations from child fans.

She didn't even know she had child fans!

It seemed that Shinji was right, she was a well respected professional hero with a reputation that she couldn't even fathom. Granted, there was an entire echelon of heroes who were more well-known than her, but this popularity she had was unprecedented!

She had her debut with the intent of using her raw sex appeal to bring her to the top, which was just pandering to a specific group of fans. It was apart of a plan she had to raise in Japan's hero rankings.

She had forsaken the 'appealing' approach when she adopted Shirou because it didn't feel right for a single mother to do that, even if she was just an adoptive one.

She truly didn't expect that her initial fans had continued to support her when the reason they were her fans had faded, nor did she expect the surprising amount of praise she was getting from the single mother's associations. She really didn't.

What did they see in her? Yu didn't know one bit, but she knew that she had to work hard to meet those expectations.

She knew that it felt bad to see your idol not meet your expectations at all so she chose to not go down that same path. As to who that idol was, the memory of it faded, only the embers of those feelings remained. That was enough for her.

"Excuse me, Mount Lady?" Her secretary's voice blared from a speaker. "You have a visitor."

Yu pressed a button on her table, "Can you tell them later? I'm kinda busy with the paperwork."

She didn't want to deal with any sort of liaison or delegate at the present. Any other day it would be fine, but if she left the paperwork for too long then it would be called the 'Mount Lady Agency' but instead the 'Mount Paperwork Agency'.

"It's Uwabami, ma'am."

Yu stopped her pen before it could even touch the paper. She struggled between a smile and a frown for a while but settled on a sigh. "Fine, send her in."

A few seconds later, the door opened and a jovial looking Uwabami stepped in. "Hey girl! How's the kid doing?"

Yu sighed, "Shirou's doing fine, can I ask why you're here? Not that I don't appreciate the company but I need to finish the paperwork."

Uwabami sent a look at the mound of paperwork before frowning in horror, "Okay, wow. I think you should have really done them as soon as they appeared."

"You think?" Yu muttered, "Sorry, I'm getting stressed. Why're you here again? It better be important."

Wow, she sounded like a big-shot hero now… what a pleasantly liberating feeling.

"You know how I'm advocating for the rework of the hero course entrance exam?" Uwabami started which drew a nod from Yu, "Right, so it turns out that I need some support from professional heroes in order to push the change. That's where you come in."

Yu raised a brow, "Me? Wouldn't it be better for you to choose a more popular hero like All Might or even Endeavor? His son goes to U.A."

"It probably would," Uwabami admitted, "However, the number one pro hero is kinda busy teaching at that school and Endeavor won't bother with something as 'pointless' as this. Flaming prick… So after that, you're the next best thing."

Yu still had her brow raised. "I'd think that Hawks or even Yoroi Musha would be better heroes than me, not to mention more influential."

"Yeah but they're like apart of the top ten and will always be busy," Uwabami said, "I've already gone down the list and got some people to sign it. You were close by so I decided to ask too~"

So the reason devolved from her being influential into her just being close by…?

 _Eh, good enough for me._

"Okay then," Yu started, "You have my support. Do I have to write down a note or something?"

Uwabami fished out a folder from her purse, "Just put your signature and name on this list. Thanks for this Yu, you're saving me a lot of time!"

Yu sighed and wrote her name with her signature beside it… under a few noticeable names. There was Shinji's signature, Aizawa's signature, a few others she didn't recognize, but judging from the rank number next to them, it was pretty high.

Yu was pretty sure she still didn't have a rank number but who knows, she could be wrong.

"There, that's done." Yu said, "Can I go back to the paperwork hell now?"

Uwabami snickered, "Yeah, yeah, okay go ahead. I got a few more places to stop by."

"You really want them to change those exams, do you?" Yu muttered. "That Shinso kid really made you want to do this?"

"Of course not!" Uwabami berated, surprising Yu somewhat. "You should know better than anyone else why I'm doing this."

She should? Yu tried to think up a reason but so far she was drawing blanks– oh wait.

"It has to do with the Beast, right?" Yu asked.

"Got it in one, girl." Uwabami congratulated. "That's right, if we had more heroes, with quirks that aren't solely based on flashy battles with villains, then maybe we could have stopped some of the victims…"

Or rather, stopped Shirou from getting hurt at all.

More heroes are good, even better if they could resolve cases without violence like what the Shinso kid could do.

It was just common sense, something which Yu was somewhat sure that the world was lacking it at the moment.

"I guess that's reasonable…" Yu muttered, "Take care of yourself okay? I wouldn't want Shirou to come to save you again."

Uwabami snickered and waved a farewell as she left the door, "Take care of yourself, Yu! Tell the kid to take care of himself too!"

Yu didn't need to be told that because she was already planning to do that.

Although he was safe for now, he should be with Aizawa and All Might. As much as Yu disliked Aizawa, he had her respect when it comes to his work ethic and efficiency.

Also, there was All Might so they'd be fine~

 _Now, where did I leave my pen?_

* * *

Once they had all stepped out of the bus, what greeted them was a… man in a space suit?

Shirou wanted to muse about the surreal situation but just reasoned to himself that this man was a professional hero. Not unreasonable to assume considering the other costumes that he saw from the newbie meet.

"Everyone, I have been waiting for you!" The space suit wearing hero greeted.

His classmates all released sounds of slight awe, confirming to him that this was a professional hero.

"It's the Space Hero, Thirteen!" Midoriya muttered from in front of him, "The gentlemanly hero who rescued tones of people from disasters!"

Shirou raised a brow at the description. The man in front of him had respect from him due to his status as a hero, but now even more so.

"Oh, I love Thirteen!" Uraraka cheered loudly.

"Let's go inside without delay." Thirteen ordered, and the class complied.

"We look forward to working with you!" The class said loudly in unison, with a few exceptions like Bakugo and Todoroki.

It didn't take long before they had all stepped within the establishment, and the full splendor of the room was revealed to them all.

There was a replica of a ruined city to their left, a slope of mud and rock that simulated a landslide, a huge range of mountains, a smaller dome with what seems to be fire patterns etched on it, a giant lake to their right, and a dome with clouds etched onto it.

It was a large range of disaster points that Shirou found himself in awe at. He was sure that by the smiles he saw that his classmates had, they were excited too.

"Wow! It looks like Universal Studios Japan!"

"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, and etc––" Thirteen said as he – or was it a she? – took strides to face the group, with the landscape as his background.

He spread his arms out, "It is a training ground that I made with different types of accidents and disasters in mind! It's called the 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint'!"

Shirou felt that he missed a collective thought. He should really ask Yu about this, it felt wrong to miss it for some reason.

"Look at that Emiya!" Jiro shouted, "It's a damn landslide! You think they'll let us slide down it later? With protective gear of course."

"I don't think they'd have protective gear for that, Jiro-san," Shirou said slowly.

"Don't be such a sourpuss!" Kaminari exclaimed from Jiro's side. "We can have Momo make us some, right!?"

Yaoyorozu looked contemplative, "I suppose it would be an interesting idea to venture into…"

 _Please tell me they're joking._

Shirou felt like they weren't.

"Let's see…" Thirteen started, "Before we begin, let me say one thing… er, or two, or three, or four… five… six… seven–" Once Aizawa sent him a look, Thirteen nodded and stopped counting, "Everyone, I'm sure you are aware of my quirk, Black Hole. I can suck up anything and turn it to dust."

"You've been able to use that quirk to save people from all kinds of disasters, right?" Midoriya said… but the cynical part of Shirou's mind heard one thing only.

 _Turn it to dust._

"Yes, but it is a power that can kill easily." Thirteen continued, "Some of you also have quirks like that, right?"

The smiles that his class had faded entirely. Shirou found himself frowning too, but not at stunned the teacher like everyone else but at his class.

Information like that should be a given. Accidents happen in their chosen line of work, Shirou knew that. However, his class seemed to have completely forgotten about that.

Iida's kick could easily snap someone's neck, Midoriya's punch could easily turn someone's insides into mush, Uraraka's quirk could send someone out of orbit, even Mineta's quirk could be used to suffocate someone if needed to.

As much as Shirou knew that none of them would ever bother, let alone consider doing it, but it was a reality they had to face someday. It was good that they were learning of it early.

"In a superhuman society, personal quirks have been certified and stringently regulated so that doesn't seem to be a problem at first glance." Thirteen started, a glance from Shirou was all that was needed to tell that he had his classmates attention.

"However, please do not forget that there are many quirks that can easily kill with one wrong step. With Aizawa's physical fitness test you found out about the possibility of your own hidden powers, and with All Might's person-to-person combat training, I think you experienced the danger of using those powers against others."

Thirteen gestured to the landscape of carefully constructed destruction, "This class is a fresh start. You shall learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You do not have powers so you can harm others. I hope you leave here with the understanding that you have powers in order to help others." With a showman bow, Thirteen ended his speech. "That is all. Thank you for listening."

Following that were cheers from his classmates, Shirou allowed a small smile to escape at that. Perhaps now his classmates would learn to take their aspiring job more seriously.

Probably not now, they were still kids so they had to cut loose and have fun for now, but in the future when it matters.

Shirou did wonder how he could use his 'quirk' to save lives. Other than the usual combat-the-enemy, intercept attacks, and throw himself in the way of attacks, he didn't really know how. Perhaps this class would have insights for him.

Aizawa smirked. "Alright then, first––"

Lights flickered around them which brought them into a near darkness. The glass still gave light so they could still see, thankfully.

A blackout? At this time?

Shirou didn't really think so, but he held out hope.

His hope faded when he focused his eyes down at the plaza area. What he saw was a simple broken fountain, turning itself off and on at random intervals…

… and a swiveling rift of reality tinged in black.

 _A portal._

Aizawa noticed Shirou's gaze without delay and swiveled on his heel to gaze at the plaza. He didn't have Shirou's enhanced vision, but even a blind man could tell what it was.

The portal slowly grew in size before bursting outwards to the sides, enveloping a wide section of the plaza. On the fog of black were two glowing yellow eyes.

Shirou grit his teeth and took steps forward, admittedly pushing a student or two out of the way in order to get a better look.

A pale hand reached out from the portal, pushing the membrane aside to reveal a single baleful stare from a man, whose head was covered by a hand.

 _A severed hand._

Shirou could only tell one thing and it was the only thing that mattered.

 _Villains had arrived._

"Gather together and don't move!" Aizawa shouted, which startled the students completely. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

Before Thirteen even reacted, Shirou was in front of the group with Kanshou and Bakuya gleaming in the sunlight, the edges not blunted in the slighted. They were as sharp as a Noble Phantasm should be, and it was what was going to be needed.

"Don't you dare brat!" Aizawa shouted as he pulled his goggles up, "Stay here and don't you dare move!"

Shirou sent a rueful glare towards Aizawa, "I'm not leaving you to fight alone, Aizawa!"

It seemed that their words spurred the students behind them to send their glances to the plaza.

"What's that…?" Kirishima, Shirou hoped he got the name right because right now, he couldn't be bothered to remember. He had to focus on the threat down at the plaza.

From the portal in the plaza, the man with severed hands walked out, followed by a swarm of other malformed beings.

Shirou knew that monsters did not exist in this world, so those were people whose quirks must have unfortunately deformed them.

"Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson's already started…?"

Shirou honestly felt a piece of him snap from the callous statement. Did they truly not realize the situation!?

"Are you serious?" Shirou started in a deathly calm tone, one that attracted the attention of the teachers and students alike, "Why would Aizawa shout for Thirteen to protect the students? This isn't apart of the lesson."

His claim seemed to send a riveting shock to most of the students, all which had been silent until now. They sent each other unsure and confused glances.

"The brat is right." Aizawa muttered as he took steps to the front, "This isn't a lesson. Why? It's because those aren't our people, they're villains."

It seems like Aizawa's words did the trick and all the students let out gasps of shock and some even entered a combat stance, namely Bakugo and Todoroki.

"The trespassing the other day was the work of these scumbags after all huh…?" Aizawa muttered as his eyes drew to a familiar figure.

Shirou's grip tightened to the point that his knuckles were white, his deathly calm demeanor gave way to ever so subtle panic at the sight…

… The sight of an almost tar-black man, standing with snickering confidence as he glared back at where they stood. The black tattoos on his body, while being darker than his own body which let them see it, laughed loudly as he held two daggers to his side.

 _Tawrich and Zarich._

 _No… It's not possible. He should still be locked up!_

The bandages around Aizawa's neck expanded and wrapped at the sight, but Shirou could not help but grit his teeth in frustration.

This class was a fresh start, they said. You'll learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives, they said. You do not have powers so you can harm others, they said.

It was unfortunate that after a speech like that… he'd have to use his magecraft to harm others so soon.

 _Avenger was here._

Truly, unfortunate.

* * *

"Thirteen and Eraser Head, huh?" Kurogiri muttered as his mist coagulated back around his body. "The teacher's curriculum we received the other day said that All Might was also supposed to be here."

"But it doesn't seem like it right, boss?" Angra Mainyu cackled with a smile.

"Where is he…" Shigaraki muttered, "I went through the trouble of bringing this whole party, too… All Might – the Symbol of Peace – I can't believe he's not here. I wonder if he'll come if we kill some kids?"

"Keep wondering about that," Angra Mainyu said, "I've got my eyes on my prize already."

"He is here then? The one who bested you in combat." Kurogiri asked, "I find it hard to believe that a child bested you."

"That kid had no problems trying to impale my gut," Angra Mainyu retorted, "I'd like to see you try coming out of that unscathed. Besides, we were interrupted. I was nearly going to take his head off."

"You keep telling yourself that, Angra." Shigaraki muttered, "Just remember your role here and what you're trying to prove to Sensei."

Angra Mainyu smirked and sent a glance to his target, "I didn't forget, don't you worry about that."

The smile he left on his mouth sent shivers down some of his 'allies' spines, which they had none of.

 _Ready for round two, kid?_

* * *

"What? Villains?" Kirishima exclaimed, "There's no way they could get into a hero school!"

Yaoyorozu stepped up from behind, "Teacher, what about the trespasser sensors?"

Thirteen shook his head, "We have them of course… but,"

"Did they only appear here, or around the whole school?" Todoroki asked to no one in particular, taking steps forward as a chill enveloped his palm, "Either way, if the sensors are not responding, then that means they have someone with a quirk that can do that."

He sent a glance at their surroundings, "An isolated area separated from the main campus, during a time when a class is supposed to be here… They might be fools but they're not dumb. This surprise attack was carefully planned with some sort of goal in mind."

Those words sent another wave of unease through the students.

None of that unease reached Shirou who stood tall in the same spot he had been. He was contemplating what he'd do. There was a horde of villains down there. Individually, Shirou was sure he could take them, but he had close to no information about what kind of quirks they'd have.

It was risky, something that Shirou disliked with a passion. He desperately wished that he still had his ankle tracker, at least he could have hit it and trigger a signal for the police.

Right now? He didn't have a lot of options.

"Thirteen, start the evacuation." Aizawa ordered, "Try calling the school, these villains even had something to counteract the sensors. It's possible someone or some people with radio-wave-type powers are interfering."

Aizawa sent a glance to Kaminari, "Kaminari, you try contacting the school with your quirk, too."

Kaminari complied and instantly tapped his large earpiece.

"What about you, sir? Will you fight by yourself?" Midoriya asked with panic in his voice. "With that many, even if you can erase their quirks, Eraser Head's fighting style is capturing after erasing the enemy's quirk. A frontal battle is…"

"That's why he's not going alone," Shirou enforced.

"I thought I told you brat, no means no!" Aizawa berated, "Besides, you can't be a hero with just one trick. I'm leaving it to you, Thirteen."

After he received a nod from the fellow Professional Hero, Aizawa sent another glare at Shirou, "And you, don't you dare move away from here! Do you understand me brat!?"

Shirou had no time to refute as Aizawa leaped all the way down the stairs in a single bound. Within seconds he took out three villains before being surrounded by others.

"Damn it, Aizawa!" Shirou shouted in frustration.

"Come with us, this way!" Thirteen shouted, but Shirou would not move.

"But Aizawa is–" Shirou tried to argue, but a strong and sturdy arm clamped down around his right arm like a vice and forcefully tugged him.

"No time!" Sato shouted, panic clear in his voice, "I know you want to help him out, we all do, but we have to follow his orders!"

"Sato, let me go!" Shirou shouted as he struggled out of the grasp. He didn't really make any progress, which meant that Sato had ingested some sugar and strengthened himself.

"Aizawa is specialized in quick and swift capture, not large scale skirmishes like this." Shirou tried to reason, "He needs all the help he can get, otherwise he'll be overwhelmed!"

 _He needed help._

Shirou grit his teeth and began to channel prana to reinforce his body to break free–

"You trust in Aizawa-sensei, right!?" Sato shouted, his grip remaining as hard as steel, "Then trust in him to be able to hold on until we get help! He's a Pro Hero, he can handle them!"

Did he trust Aizawa? That was an iffy question, but when it came to a battle, Shirou would undoubtedly trust in the man to hold his own.

"Sato is right," A new voice entered, this time it was Midoriya who had been peering down the stairs, "Aizawa sensei is doing fine, not even the Heteromorphic-quirk users are doing much to him. The villains don't seem to have good teamwork so he's exploiting it."

Midoriya stepped away from the stairs and began to jog towards the others, "He can last thirty minutes or so! More than enough time to get help and come back!"

Sato smiled his way and tugged Shirou again, "Come on, we need to respect Aizawa's wishes. He can handle them, we need to do our part and get help."

Shirou frowned as he took a step back.

Aizawa definitely needed help, there was no mistake in Shirou's mind. He'd be overwhelmed, his logical mind would tell him that. He knew that. It was a reality that he could not ignore.

… However, Aizawa needed help. It was not just small fry down there.

Avenger was there. Shirou knew that the servant could overwhelm him with his nature of being the best at killing humans.

Shirou was the only one who stood a chance with his magic. He had lost the first time around but now he had more training with his current body, a better battle sense, and – not to mention – more prana to use better-suited Noble Phantasms.

With his mind set, Shirou took a step forward to aid his teacher–

"Sorry about this!"

Shirou blinked as he felt himself hefted into the air.

He didn't feel himself falling back down.

"Sorry, but you guys were taking too long!" Uraraka complained, "Sato-kun, can you drag him with us!?"

Sato smirked and gripped Shirou's wrist just as tight as before. "Don't hate us for this, Emiya!"

"Wait–!"

Shirou's words fell on deaf ears as he was dragged weightlessly like a balloon. It didn't take long before they had caught up with the running group. They sent glances at him but realized why he was floating.

"Let me down, Uraraka!"

"I'm not letting you run down there!"

"But–!"

"Enough," Thirteen interrupted from in front of the group, "One of the roles of a Pro Hero is to follow orders from your superiors. Aizawa-senpai told us to evacuate so that's what we're doing."

Shirou grit his teeth in frustration, even if he used reinforcement to escape Sato's grip now, he'd essentially be useless until Uraraka undid her gravity quirk!

This was just… every part of his body screamed in violent protest.

He was leaving Aizawa against hundreds of villains, he could only pray that he was going to be okay.

Although it seemed that there was a silver lining in everything. From Shirou's angle, he could see ahead of the group. Which meant he could see the danger ahead.

The flickering embers of black ectoplasm.

"Sato!"

"I'm not letting you go man!"

"In front of us!" Shirou warned.

It only took a moment before Sato and the rest of the students to notice as well. Showing judgment that Shirou approved of, they all stopped in their tracks and spread out evenly as the flickering embers raged into an inferno.

The inferno of black expanded to cover the walkway from side to side, cutting off any chance of walking around it. Finally, two sinister yellow eyes formed above it all, sending a glance all over the group.

"It is nice to meet you all." The portal creator said, "We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves into the home of heroes, U.A. High School, in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath."

Shirou took a slow and calming breath.

"Uraraka-san, can you let me down?" Shirou said, "I'm not going to run now."

Between saving his teacher and his classmates, the answer was as obvious as it was painful to admit. Aizawa was fighting the henchmen, this one…

… It may very well be a boss.

"Alright," Uraraka muttered.

Shirou felt his weight return and landed on his feet. Sato held him for a moment but nodded when he sent Shirou a glance. He wasn't running off, his classmates needed him.

"I believe All Might should have been here… Has there been some kind of change?" The ectoplasmic villain asked, not really expecting an answer. "Well, not that it would have supposedly mattered. After all, this is the part that I am to play.

Shirou noticed Thirteen uncork one of the stubs on his fingers. He was no doubt going to use his quirk against the enemy villain.

But he knew that it would probably not be enough, so Shirou instantly traced his favored pair of twin married blades as sharp as they could be. No longer blunted like during the indoor exercise.

All that was needed now was a plan. The being could no doubt be anywhere he pleased, sort of like Caster's teleportation. Archer had circumvented it with Caladbolg, which would be a viable strategy, but he was far to close to his peers to consider it. He didn't want them to be hurt.

Whatever plan he would go with, he knew that rushing without thinking was going to be a bad idea–

––Bakugo and Kirishima bolted to the front of the group and charged with furious vigor.

 _No!_

An explosion rocked the area, prompting Shirou to squint his eyes to prevent any stray dust getting in. The explosion was large, covering the area with smoke as Shirou fought to get his bearings.

"Did you consider that you'd get beaten by us before you did it!?" Kirishima shouted in smug glory.

There was a moment of calm and Shirou thought that the reckless charge might have yielded some sort of fruit, but that thought ended once the black miasma formed once again without a sign of harm.

"Oh dear, that's dangerous." He said, "I suppose that's right. Even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs…"

The miasma shot forward.

Thirteen threw his caution away. "No! Move away, you two!"

"... My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!"

A wave of black enveloped everyone around him. Shirou did the only thing he could think of and leaped away before the mist could grab him.

He was outside of the cloud of black where he was met with the worried and fearful gaze of their Iida, their class representative. Sato and Uraraka were behind him crouched as if they had been tackled.

Iida took one heavy glance at the orb of black miasma before them. It didn't take long before panic grasped his heart.

"Everyone!"

All the while, Shirou could only stare helplessly as the mist faded…

… and only a few of their classmates remained.

* * *

Archer let out a hard sigh.

He felt the familiar feeling of something being wrong.

He didn't like that feeling, it always happened whenever he went on one of Alaya's more 'special' missions. When he saved lives only to have to kill them later, or when he had to kill and only kill.

Such worrying memories didn't affect his outer demeanor of course. He was a master at hiding his own emotions. He maintained a soft smile for the customers who would glance his way and he poured hot water through the coffee mixer.

"Boss, is something wrong?"

… Then again, he had a strangely over-perceptive employee at his side so his usual facade wouldn't be helpful whatsoever.

Archer sent him a glance and sighed, "It's nothing to worry about Setsuno, don't mind me."

Setsuno Toya, a man Archer had found off the street and dragged him into a job.

Before he had found him, the man was contemplating various ways of self-murder. All it would have taken was a single push to send him over the edge.

Luckily, Archer didn't push, he pulled instead.

Apparently, he had been betrayed by his lover and put under a large debt. It was one he wouldn't be able to pay with his dead-end job at a convenience store.

Archer's bleeding heart forced himself to hire him right then and there. It gave the young man a renewed chance at life. As of now, it would only take a few more months of working overtime to pay for his debt.

Granted, Archer paid him slightly more than usual to shorten that time, but he was the owner so he could overpay his employees as much as he wanted.

Although the crippling debt wasn't the only thing that made the young man pitiable.

Archer narrowed his eyes at the wary glances some of the patrons sent him as he took orders.

The young man was well known in the area for having a certain quirk. It was one named 'Larceny'.

Exactly as its name implies, it allows Setsuno to move anyone's possessions within his sight, into his own hands. It's limited to what it can obtain based on the size of the object, but it's perfect for taking valuables and money.

Misunderstandings piled over accusations, it probably had been plaguing him for his entire life, none of which mattered now. Archer had taken him in and that was that.

"Is that the black coffee for table seven, Farran-san?" Todoroki Fuyumi asked him.

"Yes, make sure you don't spill it again." Archer reprimanded.

Fuyumi nodded and tried to gently and elegantly make her way to the table.

She was his first employee. If the circumstances revolving Setsuno were complicated, her's was equally so.

Archer turned on his heel and began to clean some dishes. He picked up a teacup and rubbed it in soap.

– _Crack._

Archer slowly raised the cup, only to find just one side of it suddenly sporting a thin chip, almost as if a small dagger had hit it perfectly.

He didn't even use any strength when cleaning it.

Archer sighed and placed the cup away from the dish area.

… He truly hated that feeling of something being wrong.

* * *

"Shoji, is everyone here?" Iida asked, "Can you check?"

"Everyone is scattered, but they're in this building."

A slight breath of relief flowed through the rest of the remaining students.

Everything was going badly. In one lapse of judgment from the two most hot-headed students in their class, they had all gotten scattered around the various danger-zones in the building.

They were all most likely fighting villains wherever they were.

Shirou could only pray for them. If he left to search for them like he usually would, then that'd open the rest of the students to attacks from the teleportation quirk villain.

He was far more dangerous when compared to the henchmen villains that littered the building. It'd be wise to deal with him first.

"Damn it…" Sero muttered in frustration, "Physical attacks can't hit him and he can warp things– His quirk is the worst!"

"Class Rep! I entrust this duty to you," Thirteen shifted his stance ever so slightly, "Run to the school and tell them about what is happening here."

"P-Pardon?" Iida muttered in surprise.

"The alarms are not sounding and out phones have no signal. The alarm system is based on infrared rays." Thirteen started, "Even though Eraser Head is erasing people's quirks left and right, they are still not working. This means that they must have someone with an interference quirk who hid right when they arrived. It would be faster for you to run than for us to find that person."

It made sense to Shirou. At their current predicament, with so many villains around the building and with so many possible hiding places, it would unrealistic to find the villain quickly.

 _The best option was for Iida to run._

Iida winced, "But it would be a disgrace as the class rep to leave everyone behind–"

"A disgrace would be to not run when others are relying on you," Shirou berated, Kanshou and Bakuya gleaming in the light. "A hero's role is to save lives. We need you to run to save everyone that are fighting for their lives."

 _There was no time for consideration._

"You heard what he said, Emergency Exit!" Sato interrupted as he took a stance before the reformed villain, "If you can get outside, there'll be alarms. That's why these guys are only doing it inside, right?"

Sero nodded as he stood beside him, "As long as you go outside, they won't follow you! Blow away this fog with your legs!"

 _There was no time for hesitation._

Thirteen nodded and focused on the villain before him. "Use your quirk in order to save others!"

Uraraka cheered as she took her stand with the rest. "I can totally support you like I did in the cafeteria– I will!"

 _There was no more time for thought._

Shirou took a glance to his right and saw Shoji stand beside him. He offered no convincing words of courage, all he offered was a stern gaze and his arms raised for battle.

"Please, class rep!" Uraraka begged one more time.

Iida still seemed indecisive, his own mind fighting a battle with his sense of honor. However, that faded once his eyes set into determination. A soft click echoed from his heels as his quirk deployed itself.

Honor took a backseat, while the lives of his classmates were put ahead.

 _There was no more time to waste._

"Even if you have no other choice, are there really idiots who talk about their plans in front of the enemy?!" The villain shouted in indignation.

Iida took a stance, ready to sprint at the highest speed his quirk could manage–

"It's not like we're any better though. I mean we practically shouted it out to the world when we arrived~!"

– _A new voice,_

Iida stumbled in subtle panic, but retained his balance and sent a glance behind himself. A new sense of dread filled the group as a new arrival had made his appearance.

They were boxed in between two exit ways.

"There's another one!?" Thirteen shouted in frustration as he tried to turn and see who it was. However, in doing so would have left an opening for the villain to exploit so instead, he took steps to the side of the group in order to get a view on both of the villains.

Shirou did the same, if only because it was the optimal strategy.

The villain sighed, "I don't really have time for your pointless banter. I have a job to complete."

The rest of the students though, they were inexperienced. So they had turned away from the villain entirely.

"I can't really help it, you know? It's just how I am~!"

This arrival wore nothing but tattered pants, leaving himself completely shirtless. His skin was pitch black, shoulders broad and sturdy in direct opposition to his lithe frame. He wore a bone white mask that covered the entirety of his face, not even a strand of hair escaped.

However, the most defining feature… were the black tattoos that covered his entire body.

Shirou gripped the married blades tighter than ever before.

 _How did he manage to get up here?_

 _Wasn't Aizawa down there to stop him?_

 _Did he get defeated this quickly!?_

 _What happened!?_

"Who the hell are you!?" Sero shouted to grab his attention, "Some kind of clown?"

"Did you call me... a clown?" The man muttered. He shook slowly before laughing to himself, "That's a good one! I haven't been called that before! However, there is one thing that I've been called, I think you'd like it better than what you said~!"

"Yeah, and what's that? Tinkerbell?" Sato insulted, trying to display no fear whatsoever. However, nothing hid the glances he was sending between the two villains.

Avenger tilted his head to the side as his hands fell loosely to his sides. Even with the mask covering his face, the students could tell that a smile had stretched across from ear to ear.

"I'm pretty sure that the media gave me a little nickname," He started, "It was only a few months ago so you little brats might remember. They called me–"

Shirou heard the ground crack. He had only a moment to bring up the married blades to his front. He had only a second to see the same bone-white mask flying across the distance between them, the Right and Left Fang Grinders held out to either side.

"–The Beast!"

Tawrich locked with Bakuya and Zarich locked with Kanshou. Sparks flashed between the blades as Shirou's muscles strained against the push. Avenger had no such issue, his legs having already rooted themselves against the concrete.

"Emiya!"

Shirou wasn't sure who it was that shouted, he couldn't truly tell without having his focus waver. He was already straining, even with reinforcement, he could tell that Avenger had more power than him, something that the supposed servant was no doubt happy about.

Avenger cackled as the Fang Grinders held strong against the blades, "We have a lot to catch up on, you shitty little brat!"

Shirou truly wished that he didn't have his ankle tracker removed.

* * *

 **A/N: And this chapter's a wrap. Cliffhanger, what can I say? If I added more then the chapter would have gone longer than it should have. Thank L33t Horo for betaing this quickly. This should have been out yesterday but I literally forgot. On the bright side, we get straight into the action in the next chapter... which is next month.**

 **Please put away those pitchforks.**

 **In other news, my first term college exams are coming up so I have to study for those (failing is for noobs), there might be a delay in the next chapter too because of that.**

 **There's not much else I want to say in here so I'll leave with the usual. Leave a review to report any grammatical errors, typos, and even minor gripes. If the gripe annoys me as much as it annoys you, then I'll fix it up as per usual.**

 **Now, I'll be off to slack off in some Warframe.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Fixed some minor grammatical errors.**


	19. Chapter 18 - Once more, a Clashing Sword

**Chapter 18**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

The entire situation had gone downhill.

Avenger had gotten stronger in such little time, very much so. Shirou needed to reinforce his body as much as possible to match it.

From the smell that the body gave, Shirou knew that it wasn't the same body the servant used against him before. Even then, Shirou wasn't even sure that he was a servant anymore. Was he possessing this body or perhaps it was conceptually bound to him?

Shirou didn't know… and from the looks of the situation around him, he wasn't going to.

Avenger cackled.

Shirou barely managed to drag Kanshou and Bakuya away from the Twin Fang Grinders to block against a thrown kick. However, it didn't stop the sheer force from the kick to send Shirou flying back.

Luckily, Shirou dug his heel into the ground and prevented himself from tumbling back too far. There was some distance between them now, but Shirou knew that wouldn't be true for too long.

Avenger saw it as an opening and closed the gap.

Shirou grit his teeth and once again brought both married blades to block the attack, feeling his arms wither and shake.

He couldn't block with just one sword. Otherwise, Avenger would break through his guard again. The angle that he was slashing with the Fang Grinders also made it hard to parry.

In short, Shirou was in a pinch... but that didn't mean he was helpless.

Shirou pivoted on his heel, allowing an attack to graze his cheek, but that left Angra Mainyu's side wide open.

 _Opportunity._

Shirou thrust Kanshou towards the opening, hoping to maul into his side and cripple him.

Only Avenger managed to see it coming and dodge by weaving his body in a surprising display of flexibility and back flipped away, back to where he first stood.

Avenger somehow had strengthened himself by an absurd amount in only a few months. That thought alone worried Shirou than he was willing to admit.

"Emiya!"

Shirou turned to see Sato running up to him, worry and concern clear in his eyes.

 _That was a mistake._

Angra Mainyu leaped the distance again. However, instead of bolting towards Shirou, he made an appearance behind Sato, a frown etched onto his face.

Shoji saw it first and reacted. "Behind you, Sato!"

Shirou's first instinct was not to warn him, but take action. Shirou took off and threw both Kanshou and Bakuya towards the partially confused teen.

Sato flinched in surprise and braced himself for the feeling of cold steel cutting into him, only for the two married blades to sing as they cut across the air and curved around him towards the Avenger.

"Don't turn your back on the enemy." Shirou berated as he rushed towards Sato.

The yellow-costumed teen realized what had happened and pivoted on his heel with a fist reared back, clenched as hard as his teeth were grit.

"Eat this!"

Angra Mainyu merely scoffed and sidestepped the blow, "Too slow, 'Tinkerbell'!"

He lashed out another kick, sending Sato flying towards the rest of the U.A. group. Luckily, he was caught mid-air by Uraraka, who didn't show the slightest strain as she let him down gently onto the floor.

Shirou allowed himself a sigh of relief.

 _Good, he was safe now._

"Stay out of my fight!" Angra Mainyu shouted, "I'm settling a score damn it!"

"Attacking people from behind?" Sero ranted, "You dirty no good villain!"

Angra Mainyu sighed, "Geez… who in the world taught you? Never let your guard down kiddo–!"

Angra Mainyu brought up his Fang Grinders to block Shirou's newly traced Kanshou and Bakuya. He smiled and pushed back.

"–because you never know who's going to stab you in the back!"

"Emiya, get back!" Thirteen shouted. Shirou was sure that it was out of concern, but right now it was the least of his worries.

The opportunity to end their little battle was lost. Luckily he had a backup plan.

The area they had fought before was an alleyway with barely any space between them to use other weaponry effectively. Their current location though was an open space, which let Shirou use his married blade's other ability.

Angra Mainyu twitched as he heard the sound of whirling swords. The villain didn't think much about it and let his body react. A single leap to the side was enough to dodge two blades flying pass where his chest and head were.

If the blades had continued their path, then they would have stabbed into Shirou, but he wasn't an amateur and turned them back into prana before they made contact.

Once he was at a safe distance, the villain smirked. "Going straight for the kill? Just like before, right!? I can't wait to pay you back for all the shit you put me through."

"You're going on like a broken record." Thirteen declared, "You've taken over a dozen innocent lives. If anything, what happened to you was justice."

He sneered at the Professional Hero's direction, "What would you know? You weren't even there, now were you?"

Thirteen narrowed his eyes and prepared to use his quirk, "Iida, we need you to get out of here, now! We'll keep the two of them preoccupied!"

"Are you really going to take your eyes off of me?" Angra Mainyu shouted as he brought his Fang Grinders up, "You're going nowhere! You'll all be too busy with me anyway!"

He was going to do something and Shirou wasn't going to let it happen. He traced a bow and notched a shot.

"Shut it 'Tinker bell'!" Sato shouted.

Avenger paused in what he was doing to glare at the costumed teen.

"… The same insult twice is just lame, kid…"

Sato was inclined to sheepishly frown.

The pause ended when the Fang Grinders were brought down– Shirou shot the arrow, the distance between them becoming moot as the arrow pierced through Avenger's arms, locking them in place together above his head.

If there hadn't been a pause, then Shirou wouldn't have been able to notch and aim in time. Rin would have called it a wonderful stroke of luck.

The following silence wasn't really to his cup of tea though.

Shirou grew confused and turned to see the horrified looks his classmates held.

 _What's wrong? Shouldn't they be focusing on the fight?_

The silence on the battlefield was only stopped once Tawrich and Zarich clattered on the ground

"Well, that was just rude." Angra Mainyu complained as he looked at the arrow piercing his palms. "Well, I guess this will do~"

 _What?_

Shirou sent another glance at Avenger, only for him to be pointing the arrow edge towards his body.

He should have turned the arrow back into prana, yet the act that Avenger pulled confused Shirou greatly.

Using the arrow…

… Avenger split open his chest.

Shirou swore he heard one of his classmates almost retch.

Familiar black blood flowed from his open wound, yet his condescending smile remained despite the surreal situation. "Say hello to my quirk, you little shits!"

 _A Quirk!?_

 _Avenger had a quirk!?_

Shirou didn't have time to be shocked as his black blood flowed out of him like a river, covering the ground all around him like viscous tar. Shirou had to squint to see it, a hand pulling itself out of the black mud.

Within seconds, it wasn't the villains that were outnumbered anymore.

 _They were._

* * *

 _Breathe in._

Her chest rose as her beating heart attempted to calm itself.

 _Breath out._

Her chest fell as her eyes opened once more in determination.

"Anyone have a plan?" Jiro asked.

Kaminari shook his head, "Nope, I got nothing."

All Yaoyorozu could do was sigh and shake her head.

After they had been separated from the rest of their class, Yaoyorozu found herself with Jiro and Kaminari in the mountainous district. They weren't alone though, several villains surrounding them with menacing sneers.

She swore that a few of them even leered at her, much to her displeasure.

Yaoyorozu held her trust iron staff and scanned their surroundings.

They were surrounded on all fronts with their backs to each other. A few villains displayed caution in attacking them, but they had swiftly dealt with those and knocked them out.

All that was left were the more sturdy and opportunistic villains, those who were waiting for their chance to strike.

 _Remember what you were taught._

Yaoyorozu's thoughts roamed, remembering every book she read with combat-related items, every martial arts video she watched on the internet from decades ago, and even the words of advice that had been imparted to her from numerous Professional Heroes.

Although what stood out the most was what she was practically taught from her sparring session with her fellow classmate.

A villain tried his luck once he saw her thoughts roam and tried to slam a pipe on her cranium.

He must have had a minor speed boosting quirk because it was hard to react, but Yaoyorozu had seen faster, namely the speed of Emiya Shirou's attacks. He certainly didn't know how to hold back but this time it worked to her favor.

Not to mention by looking at the villain's eyes, it was easy for Yaoyorozu to tell where he was aiming.

She rose her staff to batter a strike away before it could even hit her side, stunning her opponent in shock. Using the opening that it provided, she thrust her trusty iron staff towards his chin, most likely breaking his jaw with the force but better him than her.

The other villains saw how quickly he was beaten and remained cautious once more.

This was good, they could use the time to think up a plan.

Unfortunately, this also meant that the villains could think of one as well.

"Kaminari-san," Yaoyorozu asked, "How strong are you able to make your electricity?"

"A big discharge that can take them all out, but I can't control it." Kaminari answered, "I don't want to take you guys out too. It'll be me versus the rest of them if I do. Not to mention…"

… Not to mention his quirk's weakness of reduced mental cognition.

They were limited, yet Yaoyorozu could feel a plan already rising from within.

"Can you two distract them?" She whispered just loud enough for them to hear, "I have an idea, just try and conserve your energy Kaminari-san."

"What am I supposed to do then? I don't have a weapon…" He seethed, sending wary glances around them. "Can I get something to use at least?"

"Stop whining…" Jiro muttered as she turned to him, leg raised, "And FIGHT!"

A swift yet gentle kick shoved Kaminari from his position, only to end up bumping into a villain who was surprised at the action.

He was surprised yet again when he felt the agonizing pain of electricity surging throughout his body.

The villain's cry of agony snapped a few villains from their stupor and charged at the group.

Yaoyorozu was already at work enacting her plan, already half of the material had been created. A villain with a scythe for an arm raised it to swipe at her, but Jiro leaped and cut him off with a kick of her leg, followed by a blast of sonic waves from the speakers from the very same leg.

 _Done!_

"Jiro-san! Come to me!" Yaoyorozu shouted, "Let it loose, Kaminari-san!"

Jiro wasted no time and sliding under the giant sheet of insulated rubber that she had generated.

They couldn't see it, but a flash of light surrounding the blanket gave the two girls something to smile about.

Once they were done here, they'd go and help the others.

Because that's what Heroes do.

* * *

Shirou's eyes glided around as he shuffled just a bit closer to the group of students.

 _Outnumbered._

That was the easiest way to describe their situation at the moment. Angra Mainyu's 'quirk' had generated a countless number of human-sized deformed monstrosities, all surrounding the group of students and preventing any semblance of an opening for Iida to run through.

If this were chess, he could say that they had been at a 'check'.

"This doesn't look good for us…" Shoji muttered, "Iida, do you see an opening anywhere?"

"No," Iida answered, "They're all cluttered without any space. I can't find a way out."

"There ain't anywhere to run now, kiddos~" Angra Mainyu cackled, his wounds closing at a surprising speed, surprising them further.

He now had regeneration as well!?

Did he have two quirks? That thought was one that Shirou didn't want to be true.

If Avenger had two possible quirks, then could it be so that he had much more at his disposal? Perhaps his recently enhanced strength and speed could be attributed to another quirk?

Too many unknown variables, something that any veteran of combat disliked.

He had to suck up his frustration though, losing his cool here like he did at the cafeteria, or subtly panicking like he did when the villains first appeared, would do nobody any good.

"We need to cut open a path." Thirteen stated, once more pushing the idea of getting Iida to run for it. "At this rate, everyone will be at a higher risk. Be careful, we don't know what other effects these black bl– tar monsters could have."

He purposely avoided saying blood, most likely because a few of the students were a little queasy at the display.

"Do you like my black blood vanguards?" Angra Mainyu asked from behind the wall of tar, "Each of them are dumb as rocks but they're strong as hell!"

Seeing one of the tar monsters move and crush some stray debris with a step, only affirmed his claims.

"Don't tell them something they can exploit, Angra Mainyu." The other villain scolded. "Well, no matter. I suppose we can torture a few to learn of All Might's whereabouts."

At the mentioning of torture, Shirou tightened his grip on Kanshou and Bakuya. His bow had been dissipated earlier due to how unsuited it was to fight against groups, but he was sure that the married blade's anti-monster properties had a benefit against these tar monsters.

All he had to do was remain calm and focus on a strategy.

Avenger giggled to himself. "How about a sample?"

A tar-monster with two lance-like arms leaped forward towards Uraraka, who widened her eyes in surprise.

She didn't react in time so the speared edge managed to graze her side, but Shoji managed to punch it and send it flying back into the crowd of tar monsters before sending a concerning glance towards her.

"Are you okay, Uraraka-san?" He asked.

Uraraka winced in response but nodded, "Yeah, just peachy…" Thankfully she didn't seem to have any bleeding so the tar monster hadn't hit anything serious. She was relatively fine.

Less could be said of the tar monster that seemed to have its throat caved in. It didn't get up but turned back into a puddle of black blood. While he wasn't as strong as Sato, Shoji had power and strength that couldn't be ignored.

Although he shouldn't have been strong enough to destroy it though… Did the location of the punch have something to do with it?

"A lot of power there~" Angra Mainyu sang, "But can you guys keep that up forever? That other guy looks like he's having trouble staying on his feet~"

Shirou winced as he saw Sato stumble just a bit.

His quirk's weakness was getting to him and reducing his cognition. After using it for quite a while, Sato should be feeling both sleepy and tired, a lethal combination when you think of the situation they were in.

Sooner or later, he would become a liability.

All the more reason to get Iida out of here before that happened.

"Kurogiri, deal with the fatty!" Angra Mainyu shouted, "These little shit-stains are going to die!"

All the tar monsters leaped towards them, arms or whatever mandibles they had were raised with the promise of prolonged pain. The ectoplasmic villain – now named Kurogiri – surged forward and engaged Thirteen, who was preoccupied using his quirk against him as a deterrent.

Their teacher was locked down and everyone else was in danger.

Shirou wasn't going to let that happen.

 _Trace… On!_

Kanshou and Bakuya spun in his hand before being flung towards the wall of tar, shearing through the monsters with ease due to the married blades anti-monster properties. However, Shirou did not let it end there and traced more, throwing more and more blades around until it became a circus of blades.

The blades would cut into tar monsters before they stepped close, and those that did get close were quickly dealt with by another layer of married blades cutting into them.

It was a cage of spinning blades, protecting each and every student.

Angra Mainyu clicked his teeth in annoyance, "Damn brat…"

"We don't have much time," Shirou whispered loud enough for them to hear, sending a glance at Sato specifically. "We can open up a path for Iida to run while Thirteen keeps the other villain – Kurogiri – busy. All we have to do is destroy as many of the tar monsters behind us."

Uraraka and Sero nodded, Sato did as well but at a slower pace.

Iida gritted his teeth and ignited his leg engines.

"On my count…" Shirou muttered, "Now–"

"–AGH!"

A scream cut off their thoughts. Shirou and the others stopped and turned swiftly at the origin of it.

They saw Thirteen standing there, his backside being ripped apart by his own quirk.

"Sensei!"

* * *

Yaoyorozu crawled out from under her recently created insulated blanket and kept an eye on their surroundings.

After Kaminari let loose his great burst of electricity, things had quietened down in their area. Jiro took a sigh of relief but kept sending her odd glances.

She had mentioned it had something to do with violent growth, but Yaoyorozu still didn't know what that meant.

She decided to pay no heed to it and repaired her own costume with relative ease.

Yaoyorozu was low on lipids, which meant she could only create a handful more things, but she had enough to create her favored polearm once more.

If she hadn't learned hand-to-hand combat basics from Emiya Shirou, then she would have run out of lipids far earlier than before.

She managed to conserve her energy, which was a massive boon to her.

"Is Kaminari alright?" Yaoyorozu asked as she fastened the last bit of her now repaired costume.

"Yeah, he's just a little out of it right now." Jiro answered as she pointed off behind her, "He's still bumbling around like an idiot. His quirk's drawback is inconvenient as hell."

Yaoyorozu giggled just a bit, "But it got us out of a pinch, didn't it?"

Jiro sent another glance at Kaminari, "I guess you're right… oh man, I'll have to thank him later, don't I?"

"Yes, it's common courtesy if you do," She said, "After all–"

"–He saved us big time, I know…" Jiro repeated, "Speaking of which… do you see where he went?"

Yaoyorozu blinked and stared at the area around them.

There were scorch marks from Kaminari's powerful electric outburst alongside the unconscious forms of random villains, and yet Kaminari was nowhere to be seen.

… _Oh no._

"… You don't think he fell down a hole, do you?" Jiro muttered, "Because if he did, I'm calling dibs on teasing him about it."

"This is serious!" Yaoyorozu insisted, "We need to find him quickly before–"

"–Before I catch this idiot walking right into me?"

Both girls widened their eyes, Jiro leaping back with her fist raised and Yaoyorozu with her staff raised.

There they saw Kaminari, yet he was held by his collar by a villain wearing a mask reminiscent of a skull.

"I don't want to kill someone with an electric-type quirk, like me," The villain mused, his raised arm crackling with electricity, "But I guess I have to, right?"

Kaminari was caught.

Yaoyorozu cursed herself. If only they had been more vigilant, then they would have noticed that Kaminari had wandered off! They should have kept a closer eye on him!

 _Ignore that for now, Momo!_

 _Analyze the situation first!_

 _What would ensure Kaminari's safety?_

The first thing they should do was to raise their arms in surrender. If they continued to hold up their arms, this villain would no doubt see it as a sign that they were still raring to fight, further endangering Kaminari's life.

Not something that she wanted to risk.

Yaoyorozu did this and Jiro followed, prompting a surely pleased grin from the electric villain…

"… Electric-type?" Yaoyorozu found herself muttering, a conclusion coming to mind, "He was probably the one that Todoroki said was jamming communications…"

Jiro brow raised in silent realization.

The villain let his grin grow as he took tentative steps forward, caution still within him. "I'm going over to you. Don't move a muscle."

What was the most optimal strategy to follow…?

"Electric-types like you and Kaminari are born winners, right?" She heard Jiro start.

"Huh?" The electricity surrounding his palm faded as confusion rose from within him.

 _What in the world was she doing?_

"I mean even if you aren't a hero, there are a ton of jobs you could do," Jiro continued, "You're in great demand, right? It's just an innocent thought."

In that split second, Yaoyorozu saw Jiro's earphone quirk extend behind her, trailing down towards her ankle speakers.

 _So that was her plan…_

She could attack without moving as long as her earphone jacks connected to the speaker itself.

True, her ankle speakers would most likely stun the electric villain, giving them a split second to grab Kaminari and take out the villain… However, surely she must have another plan than that?

If Yaoyorozu noticed the action, when she stood adjacent to her, not even facing the earphone quirk user, then surely the villain in front, with an ideal view over them, had noticed too?

"I'm just wondering, why is someone like you a villain?" Jiro continued, her earphone jack nearing the orifice of her speaker, "It's fine if you don't answer–"

 _This isn't good._

 _He noticed._

What should she do? Kaminari is in risk! What did she learn that could help her in this situation? There must be something that she could–

… _look at the attacker's expression and gauge his intent…_

Where was the villain focusing?

The moment that question popped into her head, time slowed to a crawl around her. It was as if there was nothing else that mattered except what he was looking at.

The villain was staring intently at Jiro, or more specifically the earphone jack that would be connecting to her speakers.

He wasn't looking her direction!

She needed an object that didn't take long to create.

Something that could take him out or stun him at the very least.

An item that would give them enough time to grab Kaminari and leave–

 _That's it!_

"Give it up." The villain called, his palm crackling with electricity. Kaminari flinched away despite his reduced state, acknowledging the danger that it possessed, and Jiro winced as her ruse was discovered.

Within that split second, Yaoyorozu created her object out of his view. Forming at the back of her hand.

The villain spoke.

"Did you think–"

 _NOW!_

A person was most distracted while they were speaking, so that gave Yaoyorozu the perfect opportunity! She curled her left wrist as she lashed forward, the item that she had been creating flew out complete towards him.

He was an experienced villain, so he shot a bolt of electricity and destroyed the item she threw.

 _That was his downfall._

"Jiro! Eyes and ears!"

Four words that conveyed her meaning. Luckily, Jiro realized what it was so she shut her eyes and covered her ears.

The villain wasn't so lucky, his eyes widening in contrast as he realized his mistake.

Magnesium and potassium nitrate encased within steel with only a few plastic orifices that allowed her to see the chemicals within. That was what Yaoyorozu made and threw.

In other words?

 _A flashbang._

The resulting explosion was excruciatingly loud and bright, hurting the villain's eyes and shattering his eardrums in full force. Both Jiro and Yaoyorozu were only affected for a few seconds, but the villain took the full brunt of the damage.

He had let go of Kaminari, who had regained enough cognition to stumble away, yet his eyes were in the same condition as the villain.

That was fine, Recovery Girl could heal him at least.

The villain, on the other hand, was busy stumbling and shooting electricity in a completely opposite of them, his sense of direction being basically murdered by her act.

Yaoyorozu wasted no time as she created her trusty polearm and swung it as hard as she could.

The iron impacted his helmet once but it only sent him stumbling, she swung it again and impacted his head once more.

Two close-to-simultaneous impacts to the cranium. Yaoyorozu had once read that such an action would create a very helpful effect.

 _A concussion._

The villain stumbled only once before falling over.

A moment of silence befell them alongside Yaoyorozu's heavy breathing.

… _Did it work?_

At the wind blowing, Yaoyorozu let a smile grow to match her rising glee.

 _It worked!_

It was good that she added some sulfur within the flashbang. The electricity ignited the mixture and caused the flashbang to trigger. Otherwise, it might not have triggered.

"Holy hell…" Jiro muttered, her eyes clearing up so that she could finally see something other than a blur. "… remind me not to make you mad."

She heard the villain groan once more as he twitched.

Yaoyorozu didn't want to risk it and slammed her polearm over his head once more, just to ensure he was knocked out.

They weren't safe yet, there was no telling when the rest of the villains would get up again. They had to leave quickly.

She still had lipids in reserve, so they'd at least stand a fighting chance against any additional villains that could appear along the way.

"Jiro-san," Yaoyorozu asked, "Can you grab Kaminari and follow me? We're heading back to the rest of the entrance."

Jiro nodded and helped Kaminari onto his feet, who stumbled as his reasoning began to return.

"D-Damn…" Kaminari muttered, "… My eyes and ears feel like shit…"

"Just be glad you're not dead." Jiro berated, "Compared to that, you're fine."

They were fine.

As Yaoyorozu turned towards the path that led outside of the clearing, all she could do was hope that her classmates were the same.

She prayed that they were fine too.

* * *

Sero widened his eyes in panic. "Sensei!"

He shot out his tape around Thirteen and pulled him towards the group. He didn't need much force because Sato aided him. Shoji acted as a baseball mitt and caught the teacher before he could be harmed further.

"Are you alright, Thirteen-sensei?" Shoji asked, but he didn't get a proper response from him, only a groan and twitch of his finger.

They were down an ally and a significant one at that.

Thirteen wheezed a bit, bits and pieces of his armor falling off him like wilting petals, "G-Get Iida out of here…!"

Iida's jaw tightened as he eyed the exit.

"Sero, Uraraka, you'll both have to distract the teleporter. Don't worry, I'll help a bit." Shirou ordered hastily. The two of them nodded even though they looked unsure. "Shoji, protect Thirteen-sensei. Sato, we'll have to clear open a path."

Sato nodded and faced the exit, more specifically the tar monsters that prevented their escape. Shoji didn't like the order, but heaved their teacher behind him and wrapped his arms protectively around him.

They'd only have one shot before they'll end up overwhelmed by Angra Mainyu's monsters. If they failed then everyone within USJ would be doomed.

Shirou saw one of the monsters shift its foot.

 _Now was the time._

"GO!"

Everyone burst into action, even the tar monsters around them.

Shirou threw a married blade, affecting the rest of the circling blades and cutting into several of Avenger's creatures with ease.

The trajectory of the dozens of blades was now unpredictable, yet Shirou made sure to throw a new blade whenever their path would harm his classmates and change their trajectory.

The blades cut into each and every monster which only left a few stragglers left for Shirou and Sato to take out. Powerful punches and slashes across their body were enough to reduce them back into their black blood state.

Kurogiri flinched at the sudden shift and coiled in on himself in an attempt to close the gap between them without much hassle.

Sero saw that as an opportunity leaped and shot his tape accurately at Kurogiri's metal segment, who widened his eyes at the act.

Sero didn't have much power in him, but he heaved the entirety of his body back, pulling Kurogiri and disrupting him mid-warp. Uraraka leaped forward towards the gaseous entity and slapped the segment of metal, avoiding a tendril being shot at her at the same time.

Now weightless, Sero had a far easier time simply raising his limbs and spinning. Sending Kurogiri round and round above them like a roller coaster.

"Shit!" Avenger shouted and rushed the group in an attempt to aid him.

But both Shirou and Sato were already prepared.

Shirou threw several married blades his direction, the continual tracing was tiring but the circus of blades shifted once more, shearing through black blood and narrowed towards Angra Mainyu.

Sato ingested the remaining amounts of sugar in his pouch and directed his focus to the exit. He threw a single punch at a rather large tar creature, whose size ended up being its downfall as it acted as a boulder, clearing a path easily.

Sato finally felt the last bit of his sanity fade. "GO, IIDA!"

Iida who had remained with Shoji and Thirteen saw his chance to act. His leg's engines burned, the heat searing himself painfully, yet he did not flinch nor did he cry out in pain as embers of blue flickered in the flames.

All he did was howl as he blasted forward, leaving a trail of soot and smoke as tar creatures of black blood tried and failed to catch him.

Within seconds he was at the exit, through sheer force of will he pried it open.

Tar monsters abandoned the group of U.A. students and rushed towards the exit in an attempt to stop him, yet Shirou foresaw that outcome.

More married blades flew that direction, cutting and severing Avenger's creatures before they could make it.

With one last burst of effort, the door creaked open…

… and Iida slipped through.

The U.A. group could not hide the smiles on each of their faces as they saw his retreating figure.

 _Get help, Iida._

Shirou hardened his eyes and traced more blades.

 _Our classmates need it._

"Well, that's not good…" Angra Mainyu muttered, "Right, we're getting outta here."

One of the Black Blood Vanguard charged Sero, who stumbled away dizzy from spinning, but at the same time, he let go of his tape, sending Kurogiri flying.

However, once he was stable in the air, he coiled in on himself and warped next to Angra Mainyu.

"Can you catch up to the brat!?" He shouted.

"He could be going through the forest, straight down the path, or even going the long way around." Kurogiri stated, "If I leave USJ, then I'll trigger the alarms too. It's over, we need to retreat."

"Thought so…" He muttered, "I'll be back for you shit stains!"

Shirou noticed the Black Blood Vanguards turn back into their liquid states and flowed back towards him, "Especially you, Emiya Shirou!"

Shirou widened his eyes.

He knew his name...? Despite the fact that Shirou was sure he didn't even mention his first name?

They researched him… of course Avenger would do that.

Kurogiri wrapped his ectoplasmic body around Angra Mainyu and warped away.

That wasn't the last they were going to see of him, that much Shirou was certain. However, seeing as the danger had faded, Shirou let all the copies of the married blades turn back into prana.

He was still confused as to why Angra Mainyu dragged back his Black Blood Vanguards. Perhaps they had a range limitation? If so, then it'd make sense for them to disappear back into him before leaving.

"We're safe now…" Shoji muttered as he let Thirteen down, "What do we do next?"

"S-Stay here and w-wait for backup." Thirteen winced as he tried talking. "D-Don't do anything reckless, u-understand?"

"We understand, sensei." Uraraka answered.

Shirou walked back up to the edge and reinforced his eyesight.

Avenger had made it here without much hassle, which must have meant that Aizawa must have been taken out.

Shirou focused on the central plaza and found the answer to his queries…

… _Aizawa was there, yet a black being similar to Angra Mainyu without his tattoos sat atop of him…_

… _And both of his arms were broken, a pool of blood leaking from underneath him._

Shoji saw it before Shirou even noticed.

"Don't go, EMIYA!"

Shirou didn't listen.

 _Aizawa was down._

 _Aizawa was in pain._

 _Aizawa needed to be saved._

So as Shirou bolted down the stairs, he didn't feel bad for dodging the two strands of tape flying pass him. With reinforcement flooding his body, prana reserves still relatively high, he was prepared to aid his homeroom teacher.

 _I'm coming, Aizawa!_

* * *

Yu sighed on her way home from the agency.

She finished all the paperwork and looked forward to a day of peaceful rest. She was allowed that, right? She worked hard… just let her rest already!

That mountain of paperwork will forever haunt her nightmares…

She suppressed a shiver down her spine as she entered her apartment.

She threw her bag onto the sofa, several magazine articles spilled out. Several covers depicted either All Might, Endeavor, and other top heroes posing confidently– or lewdly but she wasn't one to judge.

One cover though depicted Uwabami with a child nervously looking around to her right. That child was without a doubt Shinso Hitoshi. Yu remembered how her friend had described him.

Definitely looked lethargic as hell, yet nobody could mistake the determination found in those eyes.

The headlines surrounding the image talked about him being a protege, but most were talking about the hesitation that most people had towards him, or more specifically his quirk.

 _Hypocrites._

Yu knew that there were other Professional Heroes with quirks that could just as easily perform acts of evil, some were more efficient than this child's quirk. An example would be Edgeshot, who could easily assassinate someone without being noticed by triggering a heart attack and escape without being noticed.

Luckily, those heroes were throwing support towards the educational reform that Uwabami was pushing for, which was a lucky break for her.

Yu really wanted her friend to be successful in the campaign. If it succeeded, then there would be fewer villains with lethal quirks. Granted there would be a rise of students with hard to measure quirks, but a reform wasn't a reform without bumps along the road.

As Yu was about to change out of her costume, she noticed a box sitting on the table.

 _Isn't that Shirou's lunch box?_

 _Did he forget it?_

Yu laughed a bit to herself as she considered the possibility, which was near zero.

Still, even a less than one percent had the chance of being true, so Yu was now debating on what to do with it.

A mischievous thought came to mind. What if she went to U.A. and surprised him with it? He wouldn't be able to eat it because it'd be four pm by the time Shirou came back to the school, but his reaction of exasperation and the shocked faces of his classmates…

Yeah, that'd be a fun thing to see. Yu was definitely going to do that.

It'd be evil and childish as heck, but after a whole day of stress and paperwork, Yu needed the retreat.

She'd take her time and shower though, it's not like Shirou was waiting for her anyway~

 _I wonder if he's having fun on the field trip?_

Knowing Shirou, he'd be taking training seriously and not even consider having fun like a normal kid, but that was fine. Shirou was just Shirou, nothing could change that.

She still needed to work out that altruism of his, but she had time.

Besides, the teachers must be hard a work with him.

He'd be fine~

 _Now, where did I put the cherry soap…?_

* * *

 _This is bad._

 _This is bad. This is bad. This is BAD!_

Midoriya tried to still his heartbeat as he saw the enormous black being, a Nomu it was called, slam his homeroom teacher onto the cement.

Mineta and Asui were with him when they arrived in time to witness their teacher's brutalization. From the expression's of horror on their faces, Midoriya knew it was hard to take.

Even he was close to emptying his stomach, but he knew that the moment he did it they'd be noticed and all of Aizawa's work would be in vain.

He had to remain calm. Otherwise, trouble would be inevitable.

"AGH!"

Aizawa's scream of pain dragged their attention.

"You can erase quirks," The villain with hands over his body said, "That's wonderful but it's nothing impressive." He took steps towards their teacher, "In the face of this Nomu's overwhelming power, you might as well be quirkless…"

Aizawa-sensei seemed to struggle, turning to face the giant being and glaring, most likely using his quirk–

"AGH!"

The black being– this 'Nomu' had slammed his other hand down Aizawa-sensei's other arm, breaking it entirely.

It didn't even look like it took any effort.

This thing… it was powerful. It wasn't a statement to be made haphazardly, this monster had power in spades. It wasn't even due to a quirk, as Aizawa-sensei's would have canceled it out already.

No… it just had that much natural power.

Once more it raised their teacher's head…

And slammed it back onto the concrete.

"Midoriya…" Mineta quietly muttered, his eyes wildly flickering as fear rose within him. "What do we do? We need to get out of here!"

Midoriya nodded but even that simple action required extreme amounts of effort.

He was afraid, but if he didn't take charge now then both Mineta and Asui could pay the price for it.

"Okay…" Midoriya muttered, "We'll have to circle around–"

A black portal erupted at the plaza, out came the villain with a teleportation quirk and… a person that looked remarkably similar to the Nomu but had tattoos covering his body alongside a bone-white mask.

 _Was that another Nomu?_

"Shigaraki Tomura…" The teleportation villain called out hesitantly.

The villain, Shigaraki Tomura, didn't seem to notice. "Kurogiri, did you and Angra kill Thirteen?"

"I've managed to put Thirteen out of action, but there were students we were unable to disperse and…"

The new Nomu didn't seem to care and interrupted. "Boss, we failed. One of them got away."

Shigaraki froze and turned to the two of them.

"Huh?"

"Couldn't you at least display just a slight bit of tact, Angra Mainyu!?"

"Shut it Kurogiri!" The one named Angra Mainyu shouted. "You should have been able to teleport all of them away in the first place!"

"Stop."

A single order from the man with hands wrapped around his body stopped them.

"What do you mean one of them ran away?"

Angra Mainyu snorted, "Got away, ran like the wind. He's out of here, man– and calling reinforcement as we speak."

The man with hands fell silent at the answer and simply stared at the two of them.

Within seconds he was rubbing his throat with his own hands, a look of haggard frustration escaping his throat with a guttural howl. His hands hastened and soon there were bruises appearing on his neck, even more so than before.

"Kurogiri, you…" He started, "If you weren't our warp gate, I would have turned you to dust…!" He stopped scratching suddenly and sent Angra Mainyu a glance, "I can't say the same for you."

He snorted. "You put your hand on me and I'll just regenerate–"

The man stepped in and grabbed his throat, allowing a splash of blood to splatter around them as his throat was turned into mush.

"Shut up."

Midoriya found it hard to keep his stomach in check but remained strong.

The same couldn't be said of Mineta, who was slowly about to retch at the sight. Luckily, Asui managed to stop it inadvertently when Mineta instinctively groped her.

She let him off gently this time, only because if he made a loud retch, then all of them would be dead. One grope to stay alive? It was worthwhile to stay alive.

Mineta didn't push his luck and removed his hand from her once he retained control of his stomach.

Once the man with hands let the other black Nomu go, he stumbled back and rubbed his throat, which had already started regenerating.

"God damn it Shigaraki! Control you're temper already!"

"I'm already calm though?"

"Using me as stress relief isn't controlling yourself!" He argued, "Ugh, whatever. We got to get out of here man."

Shigaraki nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah… we can't win against dozens of pros… It's game over." He muttered with a sigh, "It's game over this time. You're right, let's go home."

Mineta widened his eyes in hope. "They're going home? Did he say they're going home?"

Asui nodded, "That's definitely what I heard…"

Mineta smiled in childish glee. "All right! We're saved!"

He had also groped Asui once more, but this time she didn't have the tolerance and shoved him head first into the water.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Midoriya-chan."

All Midoriya could do was simply nod at her. "For them to simply retreat after doing all this…"

Wasn't their goal to kill All Might? Why back out now? If they left then U.A. would just increase security measures.

That was the ideal scenario, but Midoriya knew it wouldn't just end there. His gut was saying something to him, but he didn't know what it was just yet.

"Oh yeah," Shigaraki muttered, "Before we leave, let's–"

–Midoriya saw his eyes. Those two red eyes of blood staring right back at him.

This was what his gut was telling him.

When Shigaraki appeared in front of them with his arm raised, Midoriya knew.

"–Smash some of his pride as the symbol of peace–!"

He had always known they were there.

 _It had been too sudden._

Asui wasn't even able to react as the palm came close to her face.

 _It had been too sudden._

Mineta was only just rising out of his submersion.

 _It had been far too sudden._

Midoriya could say that in that brief second, he saw Asui Tsuyu's death.

Once his fingers grasped her face like a gentle specter of death…

… nothing happened.

Shigaraki let out a sigh of minor exasperation as he sent a glance behind him "You really are cool… Eraser Head."

Right at the irritated, glowing, and bloody red eye of their teacher, staring right their way.

That ended the moment the huge Nomu slammed him back into the pavement.

 _Shit!_

Midoriya wasted no time and leaped forward out of the water, his fist raised back and his thoughts going into overdrive.

 _This is bad! this is bad! THIS IS BAD!_

Their opponent was clearly different from the small fry that Aizawa took care of.

 _One punch was what he needed._

He needed to blow him away to save Asui-san and run away!

 _A single punch was what he needed._

At the same time, he didn't want his arm destroyed at all.

 _No hesitation in this one fist._

"Get your hand off of her!"

Shigaraki turned his head to stare at him, eyes wide in minor surprise.

Midoriya grit his fist.

 _JUST A PUNCH!_

"SMASH…!"

The world cracked around him. The air around his fist burst like an explosion, the water surrounding them flew back like a tidal wave. Villains surrounding them were blasted back, loose grass flew away alongside poles and light stands, and glass from the lights above shattered.

"Damn it!" Angra Mainyu shouted as he flew away from the sheer force alone, Kurogiri's body was naturally affected by the air so he flew back as well.

It was like All Might had come and delivered his own punch.

Midoriya widened his eyes at his unbroken and unharmed fist.

Did he get One for All to work?

 _I finally got a good smash! I finally–!_

It was then that Midoriya noticed the shadow above him… the shadow of the huge Nomu from before, with Midoriya's fist buried into its chest.

 _When did it appear!?_

 _How wasn't its insides turned to mush!?_

 _Why was it still fine!?_

Is this… is this how they were planning to kill All Might…?

"You move well." Shigaraki muttered from behind the giant Nomu, "Your 'Smash', are you a follower of All Might?"

When he received no reply, he sighed. "Well… I'm done with you anyway."

The Nomu glared down at him and grabbed his still extended arm.

He couldn't get away!

The black giant raised its hand, ready to crush him. At the same time, Shigaraki reached forward with his hands, once each for Mineta and Asui.

All Midoriya could do was… absolutely, nothing…

… except listen to the sound of whirling blades.

The Nomu leaped back with Shigaraki in tow as several blades pierced the area where they stood, indenting into the ground as if they were shoved through clay.

"… What?" Mineta muttered.

The three of them turned to face the distance, where the outstretched arm of their classmate, Emiya Shirou, was held out.

"Get away from my classmates, villains."

 _They had been saved._

* * *

 _That was far too close._

If Shirou had been just a second too late, then he'd have three dead classmates before him.

Luckily, there was a huge beacon in the form of an explosion that called him over, alongside a blast of air that threw him off his feet for a few seconds straight.

That was certainly servant level strength. There was only one classmate Shirou knew that had that.

 _Midoriya Izuku._

That black thing resembling a buffer Angra Mainyu noticed him and leaped away with the boss in tow. Allowing his reinforced blades to sink into the concrete instead of their flesh.

"Aizawa! Are you okay!?" Shirou shouted, hoping for some form of movement from their teacher.

Shirou winced at his condition.

His arms were bent and broken in areas that shouldn't be bent. He had an elbow that lacked skin entirely which revealed his muscle fibers to the world. He also had his head buried deep into the concrete, blood clearly flowing out of his wounds.

However, he was going to bleed out if he doesn't receive treatment soon, but judging from the rising and falling off his chest, he was still breathing.

He was still alive, but that wouldn't be true for long. Hopefully, Iida came back with help quickly.

Otherwise…

Shirou didn't even want to think about that.

As long as Shirou didn't draw attention to the fact that he was still alive, the villains wouldn't give his dying body a second glance.

Instead, Shirou took the moment to run towards his classmates, "Are you three okay? We need to get out of here."

Mineta Minoru wasted no time nodding and getting out of the water with Asui in tow. Midoriya sent him a thankful glance as he did the same.

"Oi…" A voice called out, "You ruined our fun…"

Shirou twitched in the direction that the black giant had run. He traced Kanshou and Bakuya in case the battle started instantly.

The one who had complained was the man that had hands clenched all over his body, a clear look of disdain in his eyes. From behind him, Kurogiri appeared with Angra Mainyu in tow.

"Damn, that kid packed a punch." He said as he sent a glare towards Midoriya, but then Shirou's presence caught his eye. "Oh– are you kidding me– you followed us!? Are you a dumb ass!?"

Shirou didn't respond and kept his blades trained on them.

"Was this the brat that beat you, Angra Mainyu?" He asked.

Angra Mainyu growled, "Shut it Shigaraki! If the dumb shit wasn't there then that brat with engines for legs wouldn't have escaped!"

"If he was a 'dumb shit'…" Shigaraki mused, "Then you could have beaten him, right?"

"As embarrassing as it sounds," Kurogiri admitted, "Angra Mainyu speaks the truth. He displayed skill to ward us off long enough for them to come up with a plan."

"Whatever you say…" Shigaraki grunted and raised a hand forward, "Whatever, we're not leaving until we gut a few brats."

"Are you sure that is a wise decision, Shigaraki Tomura?" Kurogiri advised, "Should we not retreat whilst we are still able to?"

Silence followed it.

"Kurogiri… if we're leaving, then we leave after we hurt his reputation," He ordered as he glared right at the allied villain, "Understand…?"

Kurogiri could only offer him a glance of understanding. He sighed with a swift nod.

"I understand, Shigaraki Tomura."

"You're not seeing me complain!" Angra Mainyu just laughed at the implied threat, "Besides, I have a score to settle…"

"Wait just a moment, you dropped your daggers," Kurogiri added as he created a portal above the Avenger. Both Tawrich and Zarich fell into his hands as Kurogiri handed them over. "I got them back when we retreated."

He smirked. "Thanks, mate,"

Shirou frowned.

This was bad, none of them could retreat while these villains focused on them. Especially since Angra Mainyu was here, not to mention the giant black being behind them.

The way it stood and stared at them mindlessly reminded Shirou of Berserker, yet he knew that this creature wasn't anything as strong as it.

"What do we do, Midoriya!?" Mineta panicked, "I'm too young to die! I don't even have a girlfriend!"

"Calm down," Shirou ordered, to which the short boy obeyed. "What can you tell me about their abilities. I already know Kurogiri and Angra Mainyu's abilities."

"Angra Mainyu…?" Midoriya muttered, "You mean the one with the mask?"

"He can create monsters from his blood called the Black Blood Vanguard," Shirou informed, "They're slow and don't have intelligence, but they're strong enough to crush concrete with a step."

"Right," Midoriya confirmed, "Shigaraki can turn anyone and anything to dust with a touch. He got Aizawa-sensei's arms this way." Shirou frowned at the thought, "–and the big guy is something called a Nomu. He's strong, extremely strong. He can take a punch from me without any issue."

 _What?_

Midoriya's arm wasn't broken so did that mean he used a weakened punch? Even then, it should have destroyed bones and tore muscle fibers, enough to render someone either half-conscious or dead.

To Shirou, this Nomu's threat level rose significantly.

"We'll need someone to distract the Nomu if we want to survive." Asui Tsuyu added, "There's four of them and four of us. This might end up being a one-on-one scenario. The one in the mask seems to want you, Emiya-chan."

Of course Shirou would want to, after the history they shared, he would be surprised at himself if he hadn't. Shirou was confident that he was the only one capable of defeating him at the present.

There was just one problem.

"In any other situation, I'd be fine with fighting him…" Shirou muttered, "But there's that Nomu…"

It would take him time to beat Angra Mainyu while being wary of any additional quirks and his own Noble Phantasm. In that time, that Nomu would be able to defeat and kill his classmates.

Shirou didn't want that to happen, not one bit.

"Can you deal with the big guy?" Midoriya asked, "It's stronger and faster than you. Brute force won't be enough to take it down."

 _Stronger and faster?_

"That's fine." Shirou declared. "I'll be able to handle it."

He had already fought heroic spirits who could take his head off. Fighting this monster would be similar to that experience, but Shirou knew one thing.

This Nomu was still weaker than a servant.

That was enough for Shirou to know that he'd be able to deal with him. Maybe not kill it permanently, but stalling the giant was definitely possible.

"Someone will have to deal with Shigaraki though," Midoriya added, "… and from the looks of it, he's going to be fighting alongside that warp villain."

"They'll have lots of teamwork… not a battle that anyone should be able to deal with alone." Shirou said, "There's a more pressing concern, Angra Mainyu. Can anyone deal with him? He'll be trouble if someone wounds him. He'll be able to summon his Black Blood Vanguard with the blood."

"Then all we need to do is restrain him, right?" Asui muttered.

"Restraining him will be a big part of whether or not we're getting out," Midoriya muttered, "If it's just restraining then…"

Asui sent a meaningful glance at Mineta. "Mineta-chan, can you handle him, the one in the mask?"

"Are you crazy!? There's no way I can do that!" He complained.

"We'll all be dead if you don't." Shirou calmly added, which made the young Mineta wince in minor fear. "You're training to become a hero, right?"

Mineta nodded slowly, "Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Then it's simple, be a hero." Shirou said, "None of us can restrain him as efficiently as you. Your quirk is perfect for our situation."

Shirou was sure he could trace some chains to restrain him too, but he wasn't too sure on how strong his chains could be. Enkidu could work, but those work better on divine entities, something that Angra Mainyu lacked, even more so with his current body.

No, what they needed was something that could restrain him that wasn't also affected by his enhanced strength.

"There's no one else that can do this better than you."

Mineta's quirk was the perfect answer.

The young Mineta stared at him uncertainty still in his eyes, but then with one glance at the villains, his eyes hardened as he pulled a ball out of his head, his resolve steeled.

"Okay… I got this. I just need to restrain the guy with the mask, right?" He asked.

"Make sure to do that," Shirou said, "He'll try to harm himself with his two daggers. Make sure to keep his arms bound to the ground if you can, there's less chance for self-harm that way."

Mineta nodded hesitantly, but there was just a small bit of determination in his eyes. "… Got it."

Shirou was still worried about that pairing. As long as Mineta didn't get hit and kept Angra Mainyu at bay, there was a chance he could survive long enough for reinforcements to come back.

Shirou had plenty of prana, but he didn't have enough to deal with all the villains at once. If he tried that, then it was likely that he'd be overwhelmed by them.

The black giant would be able to tank his attacks and assault him quickly. Angra Mainyu would rush straight towards him and engage in a close one-on-one. Kurogiri could easily close the gap and allow Shigaraki to harm him with his quirk.

No, he would not be able to do it alone, not without his Reality Marble, which he did not have enough prana to create without Rin.

 _If only she were here…_

"That leaves me and Asui to deal with the duo…" Midoriya muttered, "We should be able to fight them, but Kurogiri will be a problem."

"Keep the warp villain in motion," Shirou added, "If you do, he won't be able to teleport. Sero kept him busy by swinging him around. The only place you can touch though is the metal segment around his neck, so be careful about it."

"Swing him around…?" Asui muttered, "I see, I'll have to try that out."

"Shigaraki is able to deal with me though," Midoriya said, "I don't have good enough control of my quirk to deal with him."

"He'll destroy your gloves if you punch," Asui added, "However, if you take him out before that happens, then you should be fine. Use the same punch as you did last time, Midoriya-chan."

"So I just need to not fail a smash…" He frowned with a grimace, "… Okay, I can do that."

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "They're coming!"

Asui got into position, keeping an eye trained on Shigaraki and Kurogiri. "Prepare yourself, Midoriya-chan, Mineta-chan!"

Shirou exhaled and calmed his breathing, eyeing the hulking mass of muscle charge forward.

Shirou anticipated it and moved to intercept, dragging the mindless heap of meat along with him to the side of the courtyard where their battle would not interrupt Mineta's attempt at restraining Avenger or the crucial battle of Midoriya and Asui against Kurogiri and Shigaraki.

Their next battle– their next struggle for survival had begun.

As Shirou dodged a sweep from the Nomu and sliced into its side, blood spraying the sidewalk, he could only hope that Iida made it in time.

If things go south, then Shirou was without a doubt, going to destroy his nerves until he had enough to create his marble, even if it wasn't possible.

No one was dying today.

"Trace–" He mouthed. "–On!"

Shirou was going to make sure of it.

* * *

 **A/N: It's finally done! This was not easy to get out, let me tell you.**

 **First of all, college life is harsh on your timetable. I had two literal research papers due this week and only barely managed to submit them on time, alongside studying for my core subjects so I don't fail the exam.**

 **Second, FGO JP released the summer event, which will 100% take my attention because I want that Jaltzerker BADLY. Not to mention there's also that Warframe Acolyte event to farm, which is fine because it won't take as much time as FGO, but it's still a pain to do at the same time.**

 **Those factors combined made it REALLY hard to find time to actually sit down and write the chapter, so apologies for the delay.**

 **I'm sure you noticed that Midoriya wasn't saved by All Might and that Yaoyorozu wasn't saved by the Pro Heroes, the reason for that was simple.**

 **Iida, compared to canon, was delayed in his escape. He canonically leaves before Avenger shows up, but here Iida doesn't and that leads to a longer stay at USJ.**

 **On that note, I'd like to mention something.**

 **Please do NOT leave a review on my OTHER story asking for an update for THIS story.**

 **There might not have been any bad intentions in it, but it's demoralizing to open up your Gmail and see that _"Oh, someone left a review. I wonder what he thought about– NOPE, he was asking for the other story, fantastic."_**

 **Please don't do that. It's great you want another chapter, but it's unsightly and makes you look needy.** **I upload on a monthly schedule so that I can manage both my two stories AND my more important college life.**

 **You will get your chapter, but please don't beg.**

 **Alright, that's a load off my chest.**

 **There was also a review saying I copied the one-punch man fic's idea about Yu being a mother.**

 **I admit, there's something in that statement. I read that fic while its first chapter came out and that was way before I uploaded my first chapter.**

 **This story was always going to feature a maternal figure for Shirou, I considered Midnight, Ryukyu, and even Ms. Joke. However, I settled on Yu because I believed it gave the best character development for both of them.**

 **That fic gave me the idea and inspiration to follow through with it. For that, I guess you could say that I copied the idea, true.**

 **However, isn't copying the highest form of admiration? It's why we write fanfiction in the first place, because we literally love the characters of a franchise so much that we end up writing about them.**

 **Make of that what you will.**

 **Next month will be the conclusion (maybe) of the USJ arc, so look forward to that.**

 **Leave a review if you noticed anything off or wrong about the chapter, even if it's a minor peeve.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Fixed some typos (Courtesy of Metronome I Hear)**

 **A/N 3: Fixed some grammar errors thanks to Grammerly**


	20. Chapter 19 - Sword in the Forest

**Chapter 19**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

The battle had started and Avenger was going to enjoy it.

He waited so long, so very long to gut the little shit stain for what happened months ago. His masked and body itched at the thought of it, even though his current body did not have any of the previous wounds.

The brat moved swiftly, rushing towards the giant Nomu before it could engage anyone else. The giant reacted by trying to crush him in one swing, but the hit missed as Shirou dodged under him, leaping away as the giant had given him his full attention.

Too bad that Avenger noticed and made his way towards him, eager to enact some form of revenge.

"Oh no you don't–

–but he was stopped the moment his foot got caught by something. A quick glance was enough to see a black blob connecting the pavement to his foot. It didn't move, or rather, it wouldn't move. Trying to do so nearly caused him to stumble.

"What in the…?" Angra Mainyu muttered.

"Your fight's with me you bastard!"

Avenger blinked and turned towards the offender, a midget who was grasping two more black blobs, ready to throw them at him. His eyes were set in determination, yet his eyes did not betray the fear he held… nor did the fact that his diaper-like costume was being put to good use.

"… You're shitting me, right?"

"What are you doing, Angra?" Shigaraki shouted as Kurogiri followed him towards the other two twerps. "Hurry up and gut the little shit!"

 _Easy for him to say._

Avenger grumbled and shifted his feet to get a better view of the orb. A quick slash with Tawrich and the orb cut neatly into two, freeing him.

Now he could gut the little–

The moment he set his foot down, another blob took its place.

"Oh come on!" Avenger whined. "You're not making this any easier for you, bag of diaper shit!"

He cut it off again but bolted forward, leaving the midget no time to react as he struck out with a kick, caving his small chest in and breaking his ribs!

… at least, that's what was supposed to happen. Instead, his kick hit another sticky blob of shit, lessening the impact but still sending the stain flying off a few meters away.

The shit seemed fine though, he got back on his feet even though he looked like he just saw his life flash before his eyes.

"You're really getting on my nerves…" He said as he raised his foot and cut the blob off again… only for another blob to hit his mask.

"That's it, you're dead." He declared, feeling no glee at the squeal of fear from the midget as snot ran down his nose.

He'd seriously just gut this disgusting brat and be done with it.

* * *

The moment that Mineta and Emiya had managed to distract the Beast and Nomu respectively, Midoriya rushed towards the final pair of villains alongside Asui.

He prayed that Emiya and Mineta were going to be fine, but he did not like their chances at all.

 _Don't think about it!_

"Tsuyu-chan!" Midoriya shouted, using her first name as she wanted to get her attention. "Throw me!"

She didn't hesitate and tossed him forward with her tongue.

Midoriya allowed One for All course through his finger, the power flooding through it once more.

 _Don't break. Don't break. Please don't break!_

Midoriya flicked his finger forward.

 _BWOOM_

It broke.

Aided with the force from Asui's throw, the resulting blast of air halted their advance as they braced for impact. Midoriya held back a wince that came from using All Might's quirk, the previous attack destroying his pointed finger.

He had seven fingers left, meaning he had to sacrifice one finger to do it, but there it was.

An opening!

Asui Tsuyu didn't waste the opportunity and launched herself towards the amalgam of black energy flicking her tongue out again and wrapping it around his neck brace.

"Kerokero!"

"Not again– Guagh!"

The villain couldn't react in time as he was dragged off and spun around in the air like a yo-yo. She grew dizzy at the movement but maintained the speed and velocity. Her job was to keep the teleportation quirk user out of the fight, she was doing it well.

There was still another villain around her. Shigaraki recovered and moved as quick as he could appearing next to her and ready to turn her to dust.

Midoriya anticipated the act and intercepted with another blast from his fingers, breaking his middle finger in the process. Six left.

Shigaraki grunted at the force, but managed to create a foothold for himself by digging his fingers into the floor, turning it to dust to create a little trench for himself.

"Get out of the way, you damn follower of All Might."

"I can't do that."

Shigaraki sucked on his teeth in contempt as he bolted forward once more, realizing that as long as Midoriya was there, he would not be able to help out his comrade.

Midoriya had to beat Shigaraki soon. Asui could not keep spinning for long, approximately a minute or two would be her limit, which meant that Midoriya only had that long to take out Shigaraki.

Not good odds in the slightest.

Midoriya dodged an open-handed swipe from the villain and aimed his finger at him, ready to let loose another powerful flick.

He couldn't because Shigaraki anticipated it and struck out with a kick. It stopped Midoriya but it lacked power due to the odd pose in which he kicked from.

Midoriya was about to flick once more but the warm feeling around his ankles told him otherwise. A quick glance was all he needed to know that due to Shigaraki's odd position, he managed to snag Midoriya's ankle without much issue.

 _Shit!_

Midoriya reacted by flicking the prepared finger, blasting Shigaraki away from his leg, but it didn't prevent the cloth where he grasped from turning to dust, revealing his bare ankle.

Midoriya grit his teeth in frustration. He only had five fingers left to use.

 _Not good… not good at all._

And as Shigaraki got back up, Midoriya knew he was going to use the rest.

* * *

Shirou was a survivor.

He had survived the Holy Grail War, he had survived appearing in an entirely new world, above all he survived the fires that burned everything around him.

He was no stranger to the mere act of surviving, so there was no need to explain what he meant to do against the behemoth before him.

The Nomu charged, legs shattering the concrete beneath it and arms bulging as it dug into the dirt, pushing itself faster and faster towards the third-rate magus.

Shirou knew that he would be able to fight this creature to an equal footing, especially if he was limited to just Kanshou and Bakuya. In fact, he had an advantage against foes with far superior speed and power.

After all, Archer's style was tailored to fighting beings that far surpassed him.

However, fighting out in the open wasn't exactly to his cup of tea. He knew that his classmates were going to be too focused on their own battles to focus on his, but there was a chance that he would prove to be a distraction.

Especially if he was going to kill this creature.

Shirou leaped back to avoid a wild flail of a punch, which destroyed the concrete behind him with a thunderous boom.

Even now he could see the looks of concern that his classmates had sent him.

They would need to focus in order to survive the battle they found themselves in. If Shirou needed to purposely handicap himself by moving into an entirely new battlefield, then he would gladly do so.

He heard no words of protest as he dove deeper into the surrounding forests. The sound of trees and roots being torn away only told the magus that the creature was following him.

 _Good._

Shirou weaved under a branch and leaped over a bush. Behind him, that very same branch was blown past him alongside the sound of bushes being thrashed.

It was far too dense within the forest to even attempt fighting the creature, especially since it could seemingly ignore the trees that tried to inhibit any large swings.

The tree that flew and crashed beside him told him that very clearly.

Shirou readied the married blades and spun on his heal, turning back to face the Nomu, which gazed back blankly as it destroyed a tree that got in its way.

The magus wasn't in a very large or wide area, but it was still a large enough clearing that warranted some form of movement. Wide enough that it wouldn't inhibit any of his swings or attacks.

Besides, based on the tree that was blasted away, the rather small clearing would increase in size in due time.

The Nomu charged like a bullet, left arm thrown forward less like an actual punch and more like a battering ram.

There was no point in lowering his guard to lull the creature into attacking his openings. The creature didn't even seem to consider the idea of attacking someone's openings, but rather focused on a single-minded assault on its target.

But that assault was wild without cohesion, easy to predict.

Shirou dodged it with ease, allowing the fist to fly by his left side and expose the gut of the creature. He did not waste the opportunity and slashed with Bakuya, cutting deeply into the Nomu with the added aid of the creatures own weight.

The Nomu swiped with its left arm, hoping to smack Shirou away but weaved under it. At that time, he managed to see the Nomu's right fist raised, ready to crush Shirou under its superior weight.

Shirou's position was awkward after dodging the swipe, but it gave enough clearance for him to leap forward, between the Nomu's legs. Along the way, he did not hesitate to cut into its thighs, dropping the Nomu to its knees as the nerves were severed.

The Nomu pivoted on its knee, right arm swung to backhand him, but Shirou leapt away so that it wouldn't even hit him. It was then that Shirou noticed something.

 _Regeneration!?_

Shirou was lucky that his instincts allowed him to dodge a swipe from its left arm. He dodged with a back leap away as the hand slammed onto the forest floor, cracking the floor at the same time.

That was very irritating. In addition to its ability to tank hits, absurd strength and speed, it also had a way to mitigate the kind of damage that Shirou was proficient at.

 _Wonderful._

The Nomu stumbled up on its feet and charged, its legs having already healed from the damage he had did.

Shirou dodged it once more and gripped his blades tightly, spinning on his heel and allowing the Nomu to charge pass him. However, he did not let any sort of opportunity pass as he lashed out with Bakuya, severing a single hand off.

The Nomu crashed into a tree, destroying it in the process. It gazed at its severed left hand but turned back to face Shirou.

The stump rippled as muscle fibers exploded forth, wrapping around newly created bone structures before pitch black skin took its place.

It even worked on limbs to an extent. Did this mean that even attempts at dismemberment would yield nothing?

 _This was going to be troublesome._

* * *

While Avenger had growing annoyance at the predicament he found himself in – and the fact that he was being held up by a midget of a student – Mineta had different thoughts running through his mind.

 _HOLY SHIT! I'M STILL ALIVE!_

Mineta was a nice kid, spent his days doing what every other kid his age would do and peep into the showers of the girls changing room for a chance at nirvana.

This though? This predicament he was in?

No kid his age would ever want to be in it!

Why did he agree with Emiya!? He could have been running away right now, far away from the crazy man in the mask with two scary looking daggers that could cut him in two!

 _Damn it! Calm down, Mineta!_

 _The enemy is right in front of you! What would Midoriya do!?_

 _Right, he would probably just stay calm and– IN THE NAME OF HOLY PANTIES HE'S COMING RIGHT FOR YOU!_

Mineta leaped away in a panic and dodged a slash from those weird dagger looking things, but couldn't avoid the kick that followed. He didn't really have to, seeing as he had been mildly prepared and covered his torso with his sticky blobs to soften the impact.

But he was still sent flying a fair distance, his feet only catching the ground after bouncing a few times. A quick glance told the little student that the villain was rushing towards him again.

So in turn, Mineta did as anyone else would have done.

He _panicked_.

"TAKE THIS!"

He grabbed blobs from his head and threw them like his life depended on it, which it did.

The scary man in the mask growled. "Cut that out!" He was definitely annoyed at the blobs being thrown at him, severely so. Enough that Mineta could see his frustration as he dragged his way forward, cutting through the blobs to reach him.

He was going to reach him.

He was going to reach him!

HE WAS GOING TO REACH HIM–

Through sheer luck, Mineta managed to avoid being skewered and somehow managed to roll his way between the villain's legs and arrive behind him.

Take advantage of the opening! Take advantage of those hands that could swipe panties at the speed of light!

Mineta threw as many blobs as he could as his legs, ensnaring them both like concrete.

"Why you little–!"

Mineta would not be finished! He tore out blobs from his head even as they started to bleed and threw them at him, covering the villain from head to toe as he struggled to move.

"I did it!" He cheered, even though his imagination wasn't entirely accurate to his actions.

The villain wasn't exactly covered from head to toe, it was just the entirety of his legs. He watched him struggle to move, but even when he wore that bone-white mask, Mineta could feel the burning gaze of hatred he had.

 _Scary! This is too scary!_

He watched as the villain growled to himself and raised his blades…

Mineta blinked, why were the pointy ends pointed towards himself?

He got his answer when the villain stabbed his own chest and allowed his blood to flow to the ground… where literal monsters grew and formed out of them.

Mineta could feel his world shattering.

"Oh come on!"

He forgot about the villain's quirk.

* * *

Midoriya winced as he felt a piece of his clothing turn to dust, a flick of his finger sent the villain a fair distance away.

He only had one finger left.

Shigaraki looked a bit winded, but otherwise, he was fine. Either that, or he was a master at concealing the fact that he was hurt at all.

Midoriya was at least sure he broke a rib of his or two.

A quick glance to Asui was enough to know that she probably had a headache, yet she continued to spin round and round to prevent the warp quirk user from doing anything.

"Why don't you run off to help your friend?" Shigaraki asked.

"What do you mean…?" Midoriya said after a pant.

"That Emiya kid," He elaborated, possibly a ploy to distract him or buy time. Midoriya didn't let it continue and rushed him, hoping to take him out before Asui lost consciousness from her intense rotations.

"He's fighting the strongest one of us, you know? Our own ultimate countermeasure to All Might! " Shigaraki added, dodging a punch and moving to grip his nape. A flick was prepared and the villain jumped back preemptively.

However, it was just a bluff as Midoriya did not actually use it. Instead, he chose to wait for a better opportunity to use his last shot.

"He'll be crushed like paste," the villain added. "Also, his swords won't be able to do anything. Nomu has regeneration too, so all the slashes and cuts in the world won't be able to take him out."

Midoriya winced at that. He had little faith to begin with at Emiya's chances at fighting the Nomu, but that faith was quickly dwindling with that new information.

"Not that it matters actually…" Shigaraki sighed. "… It was about time that you showed up."

 _Huh?_

Midoriya took a glance to the villain's side, his own eyes widening at the sight.

The Beast was there, standing beside him as he cut off pieces of what looks to be Mineta's quirk off his body.

"Sorry, the little midget was a pain in the ass to deal with."

 _The Beast!? Then that must mean that Mineta–!_

Midoriya sent a quick glance to where he last saw the boy, only to find him running towards them with eyes wide in fear. "Help me, Midoriya!"

Behind him, were several humanoid creatures, seemingly formed from tar were chasing him, albeit slowly. Emiya had warned them about that quirk, but it looks like Mineta hadn't been able to prevent it from being used.

There were sticky blobs stuck on them, but the tar-like creatures seem to ignore it entirely, absorbing them slowly and coating them in their own black tar, effectively removing the stickiness of the blobs.

 _That wasn't good._

Mineta skidded to a halt in front of them, his head and scalp bleeding heavily from overusing his quirk. "We need to run! Come one, come on!"

"We can't run," Midoriya informed. "The moment that Asui-san lets go of that villain, they'll be able to catch up with us in no time," An additional glance was sent around them. "Even if we did somehow manage to restrain them for an escape… we're completely surrounded by the tar monsters."

Mineta sent a look around them, frowning as he too noticed that the tar monsters weren't heading towards them, but circling around to prevent escape. In fact, they already have.

The small hero-in-training groaned and whined at the same time. "Damn it…!" In the end, he focused on the villains in front of them. "That guy in the mask is too fast for me to keep up with! I can stall him but he always gets free!"

Midoriya was admittedly having a similar problem. Shigaraki was dangerous for him to fight. Even if he could keep him away with One for All, the maniac of a villain would just charge right back in like a man possessed.

 _What if they… It was incredibly risky but it could work._

"Mineta-kun," Midoriya called. "Let's switch!"

"Huh?"

"Deal with the other one! I'll take the Beast!"

Midoriya bolted towards the villains, no doubt sure that they overheard the plan. Before they were able to react, Midoriya used his final finger and flicked, launching both the villains a fair distance away, separated.

Mineta's mind finally caught up to his plan. "Oh for the love of– fine!" He rushed towards the pale villain with two blobs prepared in his hands.

Before the villain could get up, Mineta threw the blobs onto him wildly, not having any time available to throw with careful aim, only hoping that even just one would land a hit.

Mineta's reckless code of action ended up working as the few that managed to hit ended up locking his limbs in awkward positions, his arms bent and his legs failing to drag itself off the ground.

Unfortunately, Shigaraki simply reached out and wrapped it around one of the orbs… which turned it to dust without much hassle.

Mineta balked. "Oh come on!"

One by one, he turned the blobs keeping him restrained to dust, sending Mineta a nasty glare all the while he did.

"Keep throwing them, Mineta-kun!" Midoriya shouted. "Keep him occupied!"

"R-Right!" Mineta gave a hasty nod and pulled out another blob, wincing as he felt his scalp tear from the effort, and threw as much as he could.

Even if this villain could turn them into dust, he would need to do so one at a time and wait until it was finished turning to dust, which would take a few seconds or so.

Mineta didn't know if his diet affected how long it would take to turn to dust, but at the moment he knew that as long as he threw the blobs, then this villain wouldn't be able to move.

"Damn it you annoying mob!" The villain growled as he was hit in the face by the blob. "Cut that out! Where the hell is Nomu!?"

Mineta would not be able to keep it up for long, his scalp was already bleeding like a faucet. His head felt light and he could barely stand straight.

But, if he didn't continue, then that meant he'd be dead. He didn't want to die!

Better to feel mind-boggling pain now rather than certain death later!

* * *

Midoriya ran passed Shigaraki and towards the downed Beast.

His fingers had all but broken leaving them to dangle about. He couldn't feel the pain now due to the adrenaline, but he was going to dislike the prospect of it later on.

He focused on the villain in his sights, using all the willpower he could muster, clench his fist and allowed One for All to course through.

The Beast realized his intent and flipped onto his feet, both his odd-shaped daggers prepared to gut Midoriya mid-charge. Midoriya didn't really know what else he could do here, so he went with the default action.

He threw his clenched fist forward.

The Beast anticipated it and caught his wrist and threw Midoriya away like a rag doll. The young teen rolled across the floor and cried out in pain as the concrete dug and scratched his skin.

Midoriya any further cry of pain in and pushed himself onto his feet. Although in doing so, he was just in time to see the Beast upon him, lashing out with a kick.

 _He was fast…_

"Gaugh!"

Midoriya couldn't hold in his scream when he felt a rib snap as he was sent flying back. He tumbled once more, yet the Beast was on him once more his leg raised to crush his skull.

… _unrelenting…_

It was a miracle that Midoriya found the effort to turn his body away, letting the kick crash down onto concrete, cracking it like a dinner plate. The Beast was quick on his reaction and pivoted, kicking Midoriya on the ground back towards the rest of the fight.

… _like a_ _ **Beast**_ _._

"Midoriya!" He heard Mineta call out in worry.

Asui reacted and opened her eyes, having closed them earlier to deal with the dizziness, but once she did her pupils spun out of control. She tripped on her feet and crashed onto the ground hard, the dizziness finally taking over.

Midoriya could tell she was dazed from the swirls across her face, but as he struggled to get on his feet, he found that he could do nothing.

Mineta followed soon after as the Beast kicked him towards them, allowing Shigaraki to finally stand unimpeded once more.

"That was annoying," Shigaraki declared with a grunt. "What took you so long?"

"I had to put one of them down," the Beast said, not a hint of fatigue present on his form. "Not that it matters, they're all down now."

These two villains beat them.

Midoriya gritted his teeth in frustration, even as a bit of blood left his lips.

Was this how it would end? Two villains alone were enough to take them out? Surrounded by tar creatures slowly moving towards them, Midoriya saw no avenue for escape.

 _No! They weren't going to die…_

"M-Midoriya…" Mineta mumbled, legs pushing himself up from a small pool of blood, all of which came from his scalp. "W-What do we d-do?"

 _They weren't going to die…!_

The Beast cackled.

"Goodbye brats!"

 _They weren't going to–!_

"– **DIE**!"

Midoriya widened his eyes.

That wasn't his voice.

A plume of explosive fire barreled through the wall of tar monsters around them and towards the two villains like a missile. It was an incredibly apt description because the resulting explosion covered the field, which caused Mineta to stumble beside him.

Ice formed from behind them, forming above them like a protective shield as three figures took center stage.

"Sorry we're late," Came the soft-spoken words. "There were a lot more villains we had to take care of on our way here. Those weird monsters didn't make it any easier."

 _Todoroki?_

"You can relax now!" A boisterous voice added. "Get ready for a manly comeback!"

 _Kirishima?_

"You look pathetic!" An aggressive and condescending voice screamed. "Why be a hero when you can't even beat these small fries, Deku!?"

 _K-Kacchan…?_

The three of them took their stance in front of them, their backs casting a shadow on their injured and disoriented forms. Kirishima with his nervous yet eager grin, Todoroki with a cold and calculating gaze, and finally Bakugo with nothing but murder in his eyes.

"Just keep your ass on the floor and don't do shit!" Bakugo warned with a growl, raising his single grenade-like gauntlet towards them. "I'll kill these assholes, alone!"

"Kill?" Shigaraki muttered. "Aren't you supposed to be a hero?"

"SHUT UP!"

Midoriya gazed at the three of them once more and nodded to himself. "B-Be careful, the pale one can turn things to dust with a touch. T-Those tar monsters are controlled by the one in the mask, b-but he doesn't need them to fight because he's insanely fast and strong."

"I don't need YOUR advice!"

"Thanks, Midoriya," Todoroki said in contrast to the teen's childhood friend. "Sit there and rest. I met with the others earlier and they said that Iida ran to get help. Reinforcements will be here soon so time is on our side."

"They did say that Emiya should be here," Kirishima mentioned with a hint of worry. "Do you know where he went? Or did he…?"

"Emiya is fighting in the forest over there," Midoriya answered, gesturing with a tilt of his head. "He's fighting something called Nomu. It's strong, fast, and capable of taking a full on punch from me without any issue… they called it their ultimate countermeasure to All Might."

The three of them paused.

"Shit…" Kirishima muttered. "One of us has to go and help him out."

"We can't," Todoroki said. "The warp quirk villain is up. He seems ready to rejoin the fight. It's three on three now, so if one of us leaves…"

"… Then these guys will be unprotected…" Kirishima nodded with a wince. "Damn it, Emiya better be okay over there."

"T-The one with the warp quirk–" Midoriya added. "–he works together with the pale one. B-Be careful for combination attacks…"

Todoroki nodded. "Got it."

All Midoriya supposed he could do now was rest until he could fight again.

Hopefully, that was sometime soon…

* * *

Yaoyorozu Momo bit her lip in silent relief.

They had made it to the entrance of USJ, where they were met with the other students of class 1-A. All of them look battered, but they held their guard as they kept an eye out for any approaching villains.

When their eyes met with hers, they cheered.

Sato came over and grabbed Kaminari, who had fallen asleep sometime earlier from keeping his eyes closed, much to the very warranted complaints of Jiro who had to carry him the entire way.

Yaoyorozu would have helped, but Jiro was insistent that she be the one to carry him, citing that she had been the only one capable of reacting to sudden combat with her weapons.

Jiro could too, but her attacks were loud and dragged attention.

After they regrouped, Yaoyorozu sighed as she sat down. Her eyes drifted before landing on their astronaut-like teacher… the back of his armor shattered and broken, exposing his bruised back wrapped in what looks to be tape fashioned into a bandage.

"Sensei, are you alright?!" Yaoyorozu asked in a hurry.

"He's fine," Sero answered from beside her. "We made him take a nap to recover his strength. He woke up earlier when we met up with you, but he fell right back asleep."

"Is that not dangerous?" She asked. "What if he takes a nap and…"

"Don't worry, it won't be an issue," Sero reassured. "I know a little bit of first aid. The damage has mostly been treated and the bleeding stopped a while ago. He just needs rest now."

Yaoyorozu wanted to say more but kept it to herself.

"At least let me make regular bandages," Yaoyorozu said. "I mean no offense Sero-san, but it looks rather uncomfortable."

"You might reopen the wound so I advise against it."

The response came from the teacher, who woke up once more and tried sitting up. Uraraka came and applied her quirk on him, just to alleviate the stress he was putting on him. She still held onto him so he wouldn't float away.

"Are you sure, sensei?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"It's fine, I can deal with it." He answered, "More importantly, which of you are battle ready?"

"Jiro-san and I are still capable, Kaminari might be experiencing a little dizziness," Yaoyorozu replied. "I might have injured his retina with a flashbang, so he should get looked at as soon as possible."

"Alright, have Kaminari sleep for now," Thirteen sighed. "Yaoyorozu. Jiro. You now have two choices, either join the rest on lookout duty or head off to the central plaza to help out Emiya."

 _Emiya-san?_

"Was he teleported there?" Jiro asked. "Are we going to save him?"

"Neither, Emiya ran down there to try and save Aizawa-senpai!" Thirteen complained. "Todoroki was here earlier and offered to go help, same with Kirishima and Bakugo. A little extra help should sway the tide to their favor."

Yaoyorozu stood and created a quick spy glass to gaze at the battle.

"They seem to be fine, it's a rather even battle right now…" She muttered. "… but, I don't see any sign of Emiya-san there."

"That's worrying…" Thirteen muttered.

"Let me see," Jiro asked, to which Yaoyorozu complied and handed the spyglass over. "… Kirishima looks like he's struggling. Should we go and help?"

"Who is he fighting?" Sato asked, arms raised and ready. "I can go help."

"… He's fighting some dude in a mask." Jiro reported. "He's being battered around pretty badly."

"The Beast…" Thirteen muttered, "If we all go together, then perhaps we can deal with him together. His raw physical ability will be more of a problem than his quirk though."

"Er… guys?" Shoji muttered, only now just talking. "I don't think we can do that."

Jiro looked offended. "Why not?!"

He stood up and pointed a limb towards the stairway. "Because we're going to have to deal with the horde of villains going up the stairs!"

Yaoyorozu widened her eyes and stared down the path.

There she saw fifty, maybe a hundred villains, all of whom dragged themselves up the stairs with nasty grins or scowls on their face.

Among them was the villain she herself knocked out not too long ago.

"Oh no…" Thirteen muttered. "Push me up! I'll use my quirk!"

"Villains also approaching from both sides!" Shoji shouted, "Ten or so to the left, maybe twenty or more to the right!"

"Can't we retreat?" Sato muttered. "We should be able to leave like Iida did. It'll be safer"

"Negative," Shoji replied. "We won't be able to make it in time without leaving Thirteen-sensei behind."

"Leave me then, run and get to safety," Thirteen ordered.

"No!" Yaoyorozu shouted back, surprised at the lack of self-care he displayed. "We're training to become professional heroes! We are not leaving you behind!"

"You can't save everyone. If you leave me behind and escape then that's fine with me!"

"No offense teach," Jiro said with a frown. "But denied."

"Okay, so we're surrounded," Sero said. "We're boned, aren't we?"

Jiro wasted no time moving towards Kaminari. "Wake up! We need some of your 'awesomeness' to help us!"

"Wha~?" He muttered, his eyes only opening now. They widened at the boot above his ass. "Okay, wait! I'm up, I'm up!"

"Kaminari and Sero, take the east side," Thirteen ordered, deciding that this was no time for honorifics. "Ashido, Uraraka, Sato, and Yaoyorozu take the west! Jiro, you'll help me with the ones down there."

"Eh? Just the two of us!?"

"I know what your quirk is," He said. "Use it as long as you can and then I'll use mine. Alternate the quirks and we can mow them down."

 _Can they hold them off?_

"Come on, Kaminari," Sero called. "I'll create a choke point. Can I rely on your quirk?"

He nodded, but he still appeared a tad dizzy. "As long as they don't move too much, I should be able to hit them!"

 _Can they really hold off that many villains?_

Yaoyorozu took a look at the approaching villains from the west and sighed to herself. She turned to her makeshift team and hefted her polearm. "Okay, who wants a gun?"

They were going to survive.

Or die trying.

* * *

Todoroki maintained a calm demeanor.

Panicking was never helpful, so he threw it aside until he could find a way to get a clear idea on the battle before him.

Bakugo had run off to attack the warp quirk user, Kurogiri. That left him open to an attack, as much as the blonde would have disagreed, from the pale one named Shigaraki.

It was only due to his quick thinking that he managed to intercept the attack with his ice. A quick tidal wave made the villain dodge, but his hand had gripped onto the ice… and turned it into vapor?

That didn't make sense. In all forms of logic, his ice should have melted at the very least, but returning into vapor form?

A quirk that turns things to dust… It was interesting to muse around with. Perhaps it didn't follow any laws of physics and simply separated objects into individual minuscule pieces.

Whatever the case was with that quirk, Todoroki knew he remained with an advantage against him.

The sound of a body hitting the ground dragged his attention. He saw Kirishima had chosen to do battle with the one in the mask, Angra Mainyu, yet he didn't appear to be winning in the slightest.

In the kindest way possible, he was being beaten up like a punching bag about to break. His quirk was strong and kept him alive, but even from here, Todoroki could tell that those kicks and punches could have easily broken ribs.

He needed to offer aid, seeing as Bakugo was already far away with that Kurogiri person. He was already keeping down this Shigaraki without much issue, he could spare to aid him.

He breathed to focus, ignoring the cold that appeared over his forearm.

A quick burst of his quirk sent a few bullet-like icicles towards the masked villain. He reacted and instantly broke the icicles with ease. Even if he couldn't see his face from under that mask, Todoroki felt that he had a look of annoyance underneath it.

He muttered something he could not hear. Whatever it was, Kirishima definitely heard it and shouted towards them.

"Look out! Midoriya! Mineta! Behind you!"

 _Behind?_

But Todoroki already had his dome of ice protecting them–

The sound of ice shattering caused him to act.

Todoroki turned from the fight and focused on the injured trio, the dome around them slowly breaking as a lumbering black creature reared back its incredibly oversized arm.

His ice wasn't going to withstand that attack.

More ice was needed.

Todoroki forced it out, ice from his right side burst forth like a torrent, ripping through the concrete as it speared through the tar like-creature, watching as it exploded back into blackened tar in response.

He also sent more ice to reinforce the dome around them, with added spikes as a deterrent.

That effort went wasted when he realized that there were over a dozen tar creatures, who had stood about recently, that charged at their injured classmates. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the one he had destroyed slowly reformed itself.

Shigaraki broke out of his icy prison once more and ran at him again, gaining considerable distance.

 _Shit!_

Todoroki did as before and sent out more ice, spears of it towards the tar creatures that lumbered forth, waves of it towards Shigaraki, and a few icicles towards Angra Mainyu.

His quirk wasn't going to last if he kept it up forever, which meant he had to prioritize.

Obviously, his classmates took the first spot, seeing as the villain he was facing couldn't overwhelm him–

It was only through Todoroki's luck that he evaded a swipe from the pale villain, whose eyes narrowed at the failed attack.

 _How did he get past the ice!?_

Todoroki sent a wide blast and pushed him away, pouring more and more ice to push him farther away, but not towards Bakugo or Kirishima. It would be incredibly bad if he chose to attack someone else that was closer.

He watched as the pale villain was using his superior speed and admittedly impressive maneuvers to dodge his ice waves this time. Growing ever closer with each dodge and weave.

The only counteraction to it was to make sure he couldn't evade his ice this time. A larger wave that covered a larger surface area would suffice–

The sound of his ice dome being attacked again and the scream of pain that Kirishima had grated on his attention.

 _Damn it!_

"Bakugo!" Todoroki shouted as he doubled his efforts at destroying the approaching, yet seemingly endless, tar creatures. "Can't you help Kirishima out!? I'm occupied!"

"I can't, you blind or something you shithead!?" He shouted as he blew back Kurogiri, rushing him and giving no room to breathe or rest. "The moment I let up on this bozo he'll be fucking about somewhere else!"

Which meant that Kurogiri would go after either him to help Shigaraki, or directly to their injured classmates.

What a shitty situation… His hands were tied with multitasking three jobs. His ice would not last forever, so in terms of importance, Todoroki made his choice.

He kept his ice on Shigaraki and the endless tar creatures making their way towards his classmates.

He could only hope that Kirishima could hold on until they found a way out of this mess.

* * *

The Nomu did not roar as it charged, blasting dirt and stone out of its way as it barreled its way towards Shirou in what seems like the thousandth time today.

Shirou dodged it like before, a frown of annoyance on his face.

This Nomu did not tire, so waiting for it to tire out was out of the question. Obviously fighting it head on was a bad idea, even if he lobbed off a piece of its brain.

Shirou had tried that earlier, but even the brain itself had regenerated so it was impossible to kill.

He would need to go for the heart of the problem.

Literally.

 _I am the bone of my sword._

The Nomu charged and Shirou dodged, cutting into its calves.

The Nomu stumbled but Shirou did not let up. He dashed onto its back and cut into its nape, watching as the creature fall flat on its face as it lost all feeling in its body.

Shirou stabbed Kanshou and Bakuya into that nape, knowing that it wouldn't hold off the regeneration for long. However, it was more than enough time to trace a weapon that would bypass and negate its regeneration.

"Trace… On!"

Shirou's fingers traced the shaft of a spear that appeared in his grasp. It was a blood red spear of unnerving design.

It was made from the remains of a great beasts skull, made not to ensure a swift death but to lengthen it. The spines that trailed the tip of the spear would ensure the suffering of those once it pierced its enemies heart.

Shirou could attest to that, after all.

It was the spear that pieced his own heart.

 _Gae Bolg._

The spear spun on his finger tips, watching as the Nomu had recovered all bodily functions and closed the gap.

He needed a little bit of time to use the Noble Phantasm to gouge out its heart, so he would need to fight and disable the Nomu again, something that the blood red spear of Cu Chulainn was all but eager to accomplish.

The spear lashed forth, digging itself into the palm of the Nomu. Shirou reinforced his body to follow through the actions of the Irish warrior, swinging the spear to the side and watching as the Nomu followed suit and crashed into the dirt, the spear wrenching itself out as it did so.

However, the intentions of the spear and the wielder did not stop there. Shirou obliged as he rushed forth, spinning the cursed spear as it cut deeply into the Nomu's back, severing its spine and halting its lower body movement.

The Nomu tried to backhand him with its uninjured hand, yet Shirou anticipated it. He allowed himself to fall into the movements, slashing the Nomu's hand clean off.

Another spin of the lance cut off its entire arm.

Shirou knew he had done enough and retreated.

This creature would take at least several seconds to regenerate and charge once more, but Shirou would end the battle here.

After spinning the Gae Bolg for a single cycle, Shirou shifted his grip and pointed the tip of the cursed spear to the floor.

 _Bloodlust amplified._

Pure killing intent and unconcealed thirst filtered out of spear. Shirou flooded it with prana, not enough to break it, but just enough so that he could use its special ability.

" **Gae** …"

The Nomu got onto its feet and turned to charge.

– _The Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death._

"… **Bolg**!"

A flash of red as the spear's tip bolted forward, a crystallization of an Irish hero's legend and fame screamed into the world as it flashed its way towards the Nomu's flesh.

The Nomu reacted by throwing its fist forward, watching as the spear tip dug through the entirety of it's arm–

 _The world paused._

 _That was wrong._

–The Nomu couldn't even react as it was blast back and hefted up into the air, the fang of Chulainn's dog lashing out wildly as it utterly speared through the creature's chest, a thousand barbs obliterating it from the inside out.

The Nomu fell back onto the forest floor with a heavy thud, not once moving as its heart ceased to beat.

Not that it had a heart capable of beating anymore.

It would not be able to regenerate from that damage, the spear ensured that regenerative abilities would take a considerable amount of time before it even developed a scab.

Saber herself took half a day to regenerate it, but that was while paired with her scabbard–

Shirou blinked.

 _A scabbard?_

Where did that thought come from?

Shirou shook it away and refocused.

He would dare not to dispel the spear. If he did, then the spear's ability to halt its healing and regeneration would cease. He did not want to imagine the Nomu returning back from the dead with its heart back in its place.

So Shirou spun the spear and pierced the open chest cavity, digging into the dirt underneath where he would leave the cursed spear.

The Nomu was done for…

Shirou took a few moments to steady his breathing.

… But the other villains weren't.

It didn't take long before he found a well-concealed ledge, it was right next to him in fact. What he saw was surprising though, there were new arrivals from their side.

Todoroki Shoto, Kirishima Eijiro, and Bakugo Katsuki.

 _But where were the others?_

A quick glance to the side revealed the answer. Midoriya, Mineta, and Asui seemed to be resting away under the cover of a semi-dome of ice. However, they were surrounded by tar creatures punching their way through the ice.

Based on the look on the two boy's faces, they would attack the tar creatures as soon as they were able to. He couldn't say the same for Asui seeing as she was unconscious.

Until then, Todoroki was doing an ample job at multitasking his fight with Shigaraki and protecting them.

He kept Shigaraki at bay, using tidal waves of ice to simply overwhelm the man, who couldn't disintegrate his way through as efficiently as possible.

The ice that he did touch didn't shift its molecular state and turn to water, but instead, it faded away like vapor, as surprising as it sounded. He was able to push through towards Todoroki, but another wave of ice sent him back with the added side effect of freezing a few tar creatures that got in the way.

Kurogiri was swerving and swaying, trying to avoid the explosions that came from Bakugo.

His explosions ended up blasting away his warp clouds somewhat and made it hard to actually attack him. It was harder still with the added fact that Bakugo was aiming for the metal neck brace with reckless yet calculated abandon.

Kirishima, on the other hand, didn't have a favorable matchup in the slightest. Only defending and unable to deliver any attacks or deal any damage to the Avenger.

Whereas every other fight seemed slightly in their favor, Angra Mainyu was dominating that fight. He kicked him around like a feral beast, leaping from weak spot to blind spot, striking where it would hurt most as quickly as possible.

It was fortunate that Kirishima's quirk kept him a bit protected from Angra Mainyu's raw power.

He would be the first one to receive help then.

Shirou traced his bow and leveled an arrow.

 _Breath in…_

He focused on the target–

… _Breath out._

–and he let the arrow soar.

It flew across the battlefield in a second, catching the attention of Angra Mainyu who weaved away from it awkwardly, allowing Kirishima to finally throw an attack in.

It did little to no damage, but it was good enough.

Shirou was definitely low on prana after tracing two Noble Phantasms and a whole plethora of Kanshou and Bakuya – oh how he wished that he had access to Rin's prana or possibly the remaining unlocked quarter or so of his circuits – but he had enough left in him to pull an Archer.

Like Archer, he would shoot arrows from his vantage point until these villains dropped. Black Blood Vanguard fell from his arrows as soon as they made to reform and aiding Kirishima from being attacked too much.

He would have used a Noble Phantasm, but it seems that the situation was now heavily in their favor and under control. With Bakugo getting closer and closer to the warp quirk villain and Todoroki focusing more on incapacitating Shigaraki now that Shirou aided them.

As such, there would be no need to do so.

Shirou was about to let loose several more arrows, but his fingers halted as he felt his nose twitch.

Prana radiated from that battlefield.

But it was not from him.

There were only two other people who had Prana in this world.

And one of them was Avenger.

There was only one conclusion here.

 _Oh no._

* * *

Kirishima smirked as the arrow flew and hit the Beast.

That arrow must have belonged to his fellow redhead! He was fine! Some countermeasure to All Might this Nomu must have been if it couldn't even beat a U.A. student!

It seemed that the other villains managed to realize that and doubled their efforts.

"You lost!" Kirishima cheered with albeit childish glee. "Just give up and surrender–"

"DIE, YOU FUCK!"

"–or die, whatever works," Kirishima muttered with exasperation. He respected Bakugo, he really did, but sometimes he was just a little too much.

As the Beast swerved away from another arrow, he growled.

"Okay, that's it!" the Beast shouted. "Shigaraki! I'm going to need a new fucking body after this!"

Kirishima blinked.

"What?"

In that moment, Kirishima felt something… he… he felt–

– _ **Rage, murder, greed, hate, anger, arrogance, despair, terror, annoyance, regret, death, pain**_ _–_

Kirishima's lunch caught up to him and he lurched.

"Kirishima-kun!" Midoriya called out in fear.

He wouldn't get the chance to respond as he was kicked away by the Beast.

As Kirishima felt his consciousness fading… he swore that he saw the tattoos ripple and glow with a horrifying light.

* * *

Shirou wasted no time and dashed towards the clearing.

Avenger was doing something, the sick and vile prana that he felt from afar was impossible to miss. Had he been holding back a trump card this entire time!?

Shirou grit his teeth.

He had to drive the servant away from his classmates. Whatever this trump card is, if it included prana then his classmates were at an extreme disadvantage.

A hail of arrows left his bow at frightening speeds, far too impossible for it to be done by a regular human. Luckily, Shirou was aided by reinforcement to make it a reality.

It was also lucky for his classmates, who were blessed with the fact that Avenger had back-pedaled away, leaping away and deflecting arrows that strayed too close to him.

 _What if he used his Noble Phantasm, Verg Avesta?_

No, that couldn't be it. If it was then Angra Mainyu wouldn't be deflecting his attacks like that. He would have taken the damage and let the accumulated damage reflect back onto him.

 _What if it was an entirely new Noble Phantasm?_

The rippling of those tattoos unnerved him greatly.

It didn't take long before Shirou entered the battlefield with Avenger directly in front of him. A quick glance showed that Kirishima had been grabbed by Midoriya, who recovered enough to grab him and run to safety–

 _Where did the Black Blood Vanguard go?_

When Shirou turned to look, all he saw was puddles of black blood, slowly drifting and fading away into smoke. A quick look to the others told him that they had done nothing to warrant their disappearance.

 _So what happened to them?_

"Welcome back sword brat," Avenger said, not at all disturbed at the lack of his quirk's monsters, focusing only on the growing malicious curses around him. "Had fun with the Nomu?"

Shirou didn't reply, as he usually did, and simply held the familiar grip of the married blades. It was best to use them here, seeing as he didn't know what attacks the Avenger could do in his current state.

"Boss is going to be pissed…" He muttered as he saw Shigaraki's icy assault increase tenfold without the black blood vanguards to keep his attention divided. "Meh, he'll be fine."

It was then that Shirou had a conclusion.

"Whatever it is you're doing," Shirou started. "You can't use your quirk at the same time, can you?"

"Wow~" he blatantly drawled. "Aren't you a sleuth dog. Got a nose that can sniff shit too?"

That would explain why he didn't use it earlier at the entrance. He needed the Black Blood Vanguard at the time to prevent Iida's escape, not that it helped, but it was definitely a factor that their plans had to adapt to.

An explosion caught their attention. However, it wasn't from Bakugo.

From the door, a figure appeared in his usual teacher's uniform. However, as recognizable as he was, it was impossible to miss the frown deeply etched onto his face.

It was All Might.

In that instant he blurred and attacked– wait, why were there that many villains at the gates!?

However, he wasn't alone. To the side of the entrance, a part of the wall was blasted away, taking out several more villains, as another figure pushed through.

 _What in the…_

"SHIROU!" Mount Lady shouted as she landed, the debris not hitting any of his classmates. She swiped with one arm and a dozen or so villains were sent flying. "Hold on! Mama's coming!"

He blinked.

… _Yu?_

"Oh… He's here." Shigaraki muttered as he dug his way out of the ice, his eyes noticing both the symbol of peace and the giant woman quickly approaching them. "Oi, Kurogiri. Grab Angra, we're going with the backup plan."

Shirou narrowed his brow.

He had gotten rid of the Nomu, who was apparently their countermeasure to All Might, but the had a secondary plan…? They were outmatched now that two professional had arrived, and more without a doubt arriving soon after, so what could possibly–

 _Verg Avesta._

"Understood, Shigaraki Tomura!" Kurogiri appeared after evading Bakugo.

In that instant, the malefic presence amplified, stunning his surrounding classmates, rousing the resting injured, and sending fear through the the few villains that managed to stumble their way onto the battlefield.

 _This… was bad._

The curses that formed on Angra Mainyu's form exploded as Kurogiri, who fought the instinctive urge to run away, enveloped him in his warping shadow.

"Plans take prior **ity brat**." Angra Mainyu chuckled as he faded behind Kurogiri's black mist, his voice taking a sinister tone. Almost as if it wasn't his own voice, but the voices of several others crying out in anguish. " **Don't worry though, I'll be back soon!** "

It would be dangerous if he managed to get away.

 _So don't let him escape!_

Shirou quickly threw both Kanshou and Bakuya towards him, only for it to be hastily rebuffed by Tawrich and Zarich, sending them spinning away and piercing dirt with ease.

Angra Mainyu smirked.

" **Bye.** "

The curses enveloped him finally, allowing nothing but a beast wrapped in curses and ill omens to fade away.

Shirou turned back to the entrance of USJ, where the malefic presence had shifted… where the rest of his classmates had stayed.

 _Oh no._

* * *

Toshinori Yagi– no, All Might, seethed at the villains that were assaulting his students.

Hurt his precious students, would they? Not while he still drew breath!

In an instant, he blurred around the battlefield. Lesser villains dropped around like flies as he maneuvered across it.

"Yes! All Might's here!"

Nothing stopped him. Not the villain with a huge fist, not the villain with web-like nets for arms, not even the villain who controlled earth.

"Awesome! He's taking them all out!"

They all fell in righteous fury as All Might protected his students.

Mount Lady was not complacent either, grabbing troublesome Heteromorphic villains and throwing them away. She was aiming at the deep sections of the watery area so they would probably sustain no lasting damage.

They were Heteromorphic quirk users, so they were naturally more physically well-off than others.

When the USJ entrance battlefield finally fell into silence, All Might allowed himself to exhale a breath he had been holding. His old wound ached like it always did when he exerted himself, but as long as he did not truly force himself, then he would be fine.

"Everyone, are you all right?" All Might asked. He looked around the gathered crowd of students with a frown. "Where's everyone else?"

"S-Sorry, All Might-senpai," Thirteen said weakly. "I-It was my fault. They were warped away by a v-villain. They should still be here in the b-building."

All Might nodded. "Don't worry, Thirteen. Mount Lady and I will handle things from here on out. The principal is going to be here in a few more minutes with the other teachers." He turned to the rest of the students. "You can all rest now, we'll take it from here–"

It was as if time had stopped.

The atmosphere had changed, almost as if the very air around them had hardened into sludge. It was like trying to breathe underwater.

 _W-What's going on!?_

It was… incredibly familiar.

 _Impossible! Could it be!?_

All Might shifted his gaze towards the stairway behind them where a slew of unconscious villains lay. The few that still had consciousness stirred and crawled away as the black mist formed…

… and something equally black crawled out, two baleful eyes gazing back.

" **Thanks a lot, Kurogiri,** " The thing muttered, its very voice grating on the walls of All Might's mind. " **It would've taken too long to get here otherwise~** "

 _Was that a villain?_

The black mist behind it shifted shape, forming into something vaguely humanoid.

Kurogiri hesitated to reply, only allowing a single utterance of a question to escape him.

"… You– what are you?"

" **I told you guys before, didn't I?** " It answered, the corners of its wolf-like mouth curling up in what appears to be a smile. " **I'm Angra Mainyu.** "

 _There's no doubt that this guy is a villain, but… something like that couldn't be a regular villain. He doesn't even feel human._

The creature turned to face them, the students freezing once caught by its gaze. They weren't even the creature's main focus yet they still felt the sheer evil that reverberated from its presence.

" **All Might, right?** " It asked. " **I'll admit, I haven't really done research on who you were.** " It chuckled to itself as Kurogiri backed away, something within him instinctively compelling him to. " **Well, not that it matters. You'll die here today, All Might.** "

 _This thing could only be a monster._

The wave of malice made it hard to breathe. A single glance to his fellow hero and students told him that even they found it hard to breathe. It was like they were suffocated by the very evil that flowed from it.

"… Angra Mainyu, was it?" All Might muttered to strike up some conversation. It was carefully chosen tactical decision made to give time for the other professional heroes to arrive. "I don't think I've ever–"

–Like an explosion of black, the villain hurled itself forward towards him.

 _Tactics be damned!_

All Might held his ground and raised his fist, throwing it forward like a bullet, the very air shattering against his might. The moment his fist made contact, an explosion of air took hold.

The concrete surrounding them shattered creating a smokescreen around them. His fist had destroyed it just as much as the bone and flesh of the villain that All Might felt his fist dig through–

"GAUGH!"

 _Who had screamed?_

It only took a few seconds to realize that it was he who screamed, a small burst of blood escaping his jaw as he felt his collarbone shatter.

The villain was sent hurtling back, bits and pieces of it falling off as it did, revealing a blackened body underneath with All Might's fist left a mark on his collarbone.

The body got back up, with the mark on his collarbone fading as the bone, flesh, and tissue regrew. The black shadows surrounding the body reformed back into the blackened villain of before.

All Might twitched his head towards his own shattered collarbone…

… and he saw an all too similar mark of his own fist sitting there.

"Damage reflection, or possibly redirection…?" All Might muttered as he appraised the villain before him. "Not only that but enhanced speed and regeneration as well… but, how–?"

So many abilities could only be explained by multiple quirks–

Multiple quirks?

 _It can't be–!_

" **What's wrong?** " The creature – no, Angra Mainyu, taunted. " **Feeling a little pained?** "

The declaration dragged All Might into reality and out of the sea of dread and despair. He swiftly turned to Mount Lady, using an absurd amount of effort to force himself to do so.

He screamed. "Get the students out of here! NOW!"

Mount Lady stumbled as she stared at the black being. She could only nod as she extended her hand out, allowing the students to hop on with Thirteen.

She managed to retreat away and out of the building, leaving All Might alone.

Alone with 'Angra Mainyu'.

* * *

Shirou was worried, extremely so at the condition of his classmates now that Angra Mainyu was up there. He couldn't even do anything at the present!

The blast of wind and power did nothing to abate his worries.

 _Focus!_

Shirou shifted his gaze towards the pale villain Shigaraki, who simply stood where he was. He stared at them with a look of boredom, fingers twitching towards his throat as he scratched at it furiously.

"To be honest, I don't have much faith that Angra could do anything to the Symbol of Peace," Shigaraki admitted, watching as Todoroki and Bakugo directed their fiercest glares at him. "But, since the sword brat got my Nomu somehow, we don't have much choice but to rely on him."

They would have charged the villain for a swift takedown, but that would require getting close to him. Bakugo could risk it but the villain's speed was already superior to the blonde so he would have been outmaneuvered with ease.

Todoroki looked worse off, his quirk was no doubt stressing his body to some degree. Half of his body was covered in flecks ice, hindering his movement. It seemed like he was incapable of making sudden movements, but Shirou was sure that he had the ability to melt the ice of him. Why wouldn't he do it?

"What do you think a scrawny fuck like him can do!?" Bakugo screamed, dragging back the magus' focus to the villain. "All Might is the symbol of peace, the absolute pinnacle of power! There's nothing that trash mob can do!"

"We agree there, brat," Shigaraki admitted. "But, he seemed like he was confident enough. If he fails, then we go home. Simple as that."

Shirou frowned. He wasn't completely sure what the strength of the number one pro hero was, but he knew that it wouldn't be able to help against the Avenger.

Bakugo grit his teeth wildly. "This little–!"

"Todoroki-san, Bakugo-san," Shirou called, urgency in his tone. "We need to get up there and help him out. He can't deal with him alone."

Bakugo ceased his baleful glare and adopted a complex look of confusion. "Huh? What in the fuck are you talking about?"

"I'll have to agree with Bakugo," Todoroki admitted. "He did not seem to show any ability, of his seemingly multiple quirks, that could harm him."

Shigaraki merely chuckled. "Is faith in the top hero so low already… or is it something else?" His gaze focused on Shirou whose eyes constantly shifted between the battlefield and the fight ongoing at the entrance. "Maybe… you know something that we don't?"

 _Tell them the truth, Emiya Shirou._

"Angra Mainyu has the ability to completely reflect damage he's taken to the one who inflicted it," Shirou answered, still truthful but concealing his origins. "I don't know how strong All Might is, but if he lands too strong of a blow on him, then he'll end up taking all the damage too."

"... which means his strength is entirely negated," Todoroki concluded.

"Angra used it on you before, didn't he?" Shigaraki muttered. "Now I see…" His form shook as maniacal laughter bubbled up from within him. "I see! Angra had that kind of ability! Why did he keep that from us? Crazy bastard."

The black mist formed behind him as Kurogiri reappeared. "… It is done, Shigaraki Tomura."

"You look down? Something wrong?" Shigaraki asked, but there was no concern in his voice, only mirthful joy.

"I can speak about it later, but first I suggest that we leave," Kurogiri suggested. "It's impossible to escape if the other heroes arrive. It is best that we leave now."

"Right…" Shigaraki nodded. "We'll do that later. I want to watch first, got it?"

"… Understood, Shigaraki Tomura."

The black mist formed and warped around them.

"I'm not letting you fucks go!"

Bakugo bolted forward with a sonorous boom, hurling himself towards the blackened portal… Only for the mist to fade completely, letting the blonde student roll across the concrete.

"They got away," Todoroki observed. "They'll probably be up at the entrance with All Might. If we hurry, we can catch up to them."

Midoriya, who had gotten back on his feet despite the clear bruises that he wore, simply nodded. "We'll have to get Asui and Mineta to safety first."

"We?" Bakugo muttered. "What makes you think that you're in any damn shape to follow, Deku!?"

The teen only frowned.

"As much as I dislike it, Bakugo is right," Todoroki said. "You're far too injured to be able to help out. You'll only be a liability at this point."

"You too, half-and-half!" Bakugo growled, shoving a finger to the teen's chest. "You're half fucking frozen! You ain't gonna be helpful at all!"

Todoroki frowned and made to argue, but a hand from Shirou stopped it.

"Todoroki-san, Midoriya-san, can you both get Asui-san and Mineta-san out of here?" Shirou asked without a glint of hesitation. "You're both not combat-ready against the villains. You should get the other's to safety first."

Todoroki regarded him and sent a look to both of his classmates, both the fainted one and the one with a bleeding scalp.

"Fine," He said. "Midoriya, can you carry Mineta? Your arms are in worse condition than mine."

He nodded and picked up the smaller teen. He protested for a few seconds before finally succumbing to his exhaustion.

"Let's go, Bakugo-san."

"Shut up! I don't need your help!"

No, the young teen probably didn't.

However, All Might certainly would need theirs.

* * *

 _Shit!_

All Might, even as the number one professional hero, did not like the odds he faced at the present.

He had power, almost immeasurable amounts of it, but would that matter when his own power could be turned against him with ease!?

"Pardon me for asking," All Might tested. "Do you know anyone named 'All for One'?"

In that instant of the question, All Might found the creature had appeared before him, its hands looking significantly elongated like razor blades.

 _Of course, he wouldn't answer, Toshinori! Get your shit together!_

All Might managed to dodge it and leap away, but he was followed by Angra Mainyu on all four of his limbs.

 _It was almost like he was a beast._

All Might grit his teeth and slammed a fist onto the concrete floor, creating a smokescreen that surrounded his form.

He could not afford to attack the creature, not if he would get harmed in return. That quirk must have some sort of limitation. It cannot endlessly reflect damage like that…

… Can it?

All Might leaped away without disturbing the smokescreen to gain a considerable distance. His back was toward the stairway, which meant he could try to evade if possible.

His efforts of careful avoidance were made moot as the creature leaped forth dispersing the smokescreen with ease as he barreled towards him.

 _Even if it can reflect damage…_

All Might pivoted, wincing as a claw tore through a piece of his flesh, and grabbed the beast by his arm. With an exertion of effort, All Might threw him down the stairs.

The villain howled as its back impacted the steps, destroying them for each step he rolled down.

All Might checked himself and sighed in relief.

It looks like he needed to be the one to inflict the damage to receive it back. Using other materials such as the environment seemed to do that trick.

You don't become the number one professional hero without some out-of-the-box thinking.

Once the villain halted its roll and stood on its feet, All Might grabbed a piece of the obelisks holding up the USJ signboard and threw it down, impacting Angra Mainyu with the full force of–

Another spurt of blood escaped him as he felt his back break from the force.

 _Oh, come on! Even thrown projectiles count!?_

His back was in pain, but he knew that his enemy wouldn't care. In fact, it was confirmed when he saw the villain of malice and hate crawl out from under the signboard and ran towards him on all fours.

His back was still in pain, but he would not yield the high ground.

All Might slammed a fist on the weakened surface of concrete, shaking the stairway as the rocks and rubble tumbled down towards the villain, who stumbled and rolled as it tried to reach him.

However, he had received no damage this time.

 _This monster's quirk is extremely confusing!_

All Might prepared himself and leveled his options on what to do. He could not directly inflict damage on the villain, so he would need an outward stimulant to achieve the same effect.

A simple glance to the watery district was enough to consider.

All he would need to do is submerge the villain until it passed out. Monsters still needed oxygen to breathe.

All Might was prepared for the next charge that Angra Mainyu would throw but found himself confused when there wasn't any action being taken.

 _Where did it go?_

He received his answer when he felt the concrete shake underneath him.

All Might leaped back in time to avoid the sharp claws that threatened to tear out his throat. He would have normally kicked him away, but then he would've sustained damage.

All Might didn't know the limits of this monster's regeneration and damage reflection, so he couldn't make any risky plays now, especially since he knew how strong his own punches could be. His first-hand experience being an indicator.

The villain crawled out from under the stone concrete and seemingly grinned at him.

Had the villain dug underground? Since All Might shattered the stairway, it was possible that the stairway weakened enough for the villain to swim through. Granted, he had to have the appropriate strength to tunnel through it.

" **Miss me?** "

"Not at all!"

All Might bolted forward, aiming to grab the creature and drag him off into the ocean. Angra Mainyu anticipated it and bent its body in an unnatural way, claws sinking into All Might as he passed him.

" **You're human, right?** " The villain asked with a smirk.

All Might clutched his side where blood flowed, wincing as he realized as his old wound had been struck. Did it know about his weak point?

" **Then, that makes this easy!** "

All Might burst forth with a kick, ready to send him flying. The villain didn't even bother to dodge, awaiting the damage to be reflected.

However, he didn't kick it at all. Instead, he pivoted on his feet and wrapped his arms around the creature, exactly like the prelude to a German suplex.

Except he wasn't going to slam his head into the dirt.

"You're coming with me!"

All Might leaped up into the air and towards the pool of water.

" **I don't think so.** "

All Might watched as the arms of shadow that he had wrapped his arms around mixed back with his body, two new arms to replace it appearing above him, attached to where the shoulder blades were initially.

They swung down and sent All Might hurtling into the forest below.

All Might held back a scream of displeasure as he impacted the forest floor. Luckily the ground seemed to be softer than usual so he didn't take much damage.

However, he quickly rolled onto his feet and leaped away as Angra Mainyu came crashing down from above him like a suffocating meteor.

"You're certainly relentless, aren't you…?" All Might muttered, his muscles tensing as he prepared to either evade or attack once more.

All Might knew that his foe was ever so slightly faster than him at the present, so running away wasn't even an option. If only he hadn't expended his energy earlier this morning, then he could've been able to keep up!

" **A Beast always pursues his prey, isn't that right?** " It said, voice echoing. For some reason, All Might could hear the emphasis in one of those words. " **Being ruthless is just par for the course!** "

All Might leaped to the side in another dodge, but the villain anticipated it and leaped after him. It miscalculated though, seeing as All Might remained rooted near a tree when Angra Mainyu thought he would continue deeper into the forest.

When the villain prepared to turn back and maul the professional hero's throat, All Might grit his teeth and ripped a tree out of the ground. He held it tight in his arms and swung.

All Might held back a smirk.

As expected, the villain did not try to block, so the log flew up and above into the sky.

Angra Mainyu only looked confused at the action. "What the hell was that supposed to do?"

All Might allowed himself a small smirk.

"Lovely weather we're having…"

The Angra Mainyu growled in annoyance and prepared to charge. However, it halted its steps as it gazed toward the sky, the sound of a segment of the concrete roof shattering from an incredible impact.

All Might smirked.

"… It'd be terrible if it rained."

Angra Mainyu held back any remark as he dodged the falling debris.

None of them would manage to permanently harm it, that was something All Might knew, but it would no doubt buy him some time. It wouldn't be able to reflect the damage back at him either, seeing as he was not the one to throw the debris at him. Gravity did that job perfectly well.

It was like a hail of iron and stone, crushing the surrounding trees into nothing but bark and leaves, but none of them hit All Might. He had kept an eye on all the falling debris so none of them even got close. If any did, then he would have battered it aside with ease.

Angra Mainyu growled in irritation as a boulder of concrete snapped one of its arms the wrong way. " **Fuck it!** "

All Might narrowed his eyes as he watched the villain, shadowy tendrils extending from around it, flailing wildly as it knocked aside falling debris with ease.

They wrapped around debris, crushing them, swatting them aside, even flinging them towards All Might. There was no more cohesion to the monster's form all the while it charged with focused ferocity.

It looked less and less like a villain and more and more like a beast.

The professional hero gritted his teeth and decided to tank a blow. He let loose a punch

The shimmering of its unnerving shadows caught his attention, mainly the fact that the shadows seemed dimmer than before.

It was actually easier to breathe now almost as if the haunting presence had somewhat dissipated.

 _So it had a time limit?_

That was just a guess, but it was one that All Might would stick with.

"Give up!" All Might shouted as the debris had finally stopped raining.

The villain didn't seem to care, bolting forward with the shadowy tendrils behind it lashing out wildly. He was clearly aiming for a close-combat scenario to utilize his quirk.

All Might wasn't going to let it happen.

He leaped forward, raising his fists to launch a fist at the villain, but at the last second jumped upward, causing the villain to lash out at nothing but air.

However, All Might felt his momentum disappear when something wrapped around his ankle.

A shadowy tendril.

It seems that it already learned how to deal with his evasion tactics.

Angra Mainyu cried out, its voice becoming a disjointed symphony of screams and echoes, as it slammed All Might back onto the ground behind him, but that wasn't all the villain did as he began to spin.

All Might raised his arms to protect his face as he was slammed through different trees around them like a rag doll. Bark splintering as it dug into his skin, while rocks and debris cut into his flesh as he passed by.

It didn't continue for long as the professional hero saw an opportunity. He dug his fists into the dirt and halted his momentum, taking the villain by surprise for just a split second.

That second was all he needed to sweep his legs under the Villain tripping him as he crashed down into the dirt.

He was already too far away from the watery area to make it in a single bound without this villain getting out of his grasp. So he settled for the next best thing.

All Might slammed a leg down on the weakened dirt and watched as the ground cracked around them. He shoved the villain into the weakened soil and toppled several trees on him.

He felt the painful impact of the bark, but as long as All Might kept an eye on him, he wasn't going anywhere.

"Now, to get back to the–"

All Might cried out in pain as he felt something dig into his side…

… A blackened arm, sticking out of an equally blackened mist.

All Might felt it spread from within him like barbed wire, making every movement to back away fruitless. The blackened mist expanded as the villain stepped out, with two others beside him.

"This is the symbol of peace?" The pale one with a multitude of hands muttered. "So much for being the top hero, right?"

All Might responded by throwing a punch towards him but halted it the moment the black mist appeared in front of him like a barrier. His instincts telling him that it would be a bad idea to follow through with that punch.

"Angra, make sure he doesn't move."

" **Fine, fine, fine.** "

The obedient tone in that monstrous visage was off-putting, even more so when you saw that the pale villain didn't really seem that bothered by it.

" **You know,** " The villain started. " **You guys could've helped out sooner.** "

"You looked like you were having fun," The pale villain said. "I didn't want to get in your way."

The blackened villain scoffed as the shadowy tendrils grew out from him, although All Might noted that they were much slower than before.

He was probably reaching his limit now.

"Kurogiri, do as planned and warp half his body."

"I dislike guts in my body, but it cannot be helped."

All Might instantly realized what they planned to do. He moved to get away, but the barbed shadows grew within him as the extra tendrils wrapped around his limbs in a vice grip.

He couldn't get away.

 _Damn it!_

As the black mist descended on his form, he could only chuckle to himself in minor defeat.

 _Sorry, young Midoriya._

"DIE!"

" **What!?** "

All Might's eyes snapped open as an explosion ripped through above him, dispersing the black mist in every direction. The sound of whirling steel cutting through the air amplified as it passed by, severing the tendrils that latched onto him.

Seeing his chance, All Might leaped away as far as he could. It wasn't very far seeing as his gut screamed out in pain and protest at the exertion.

He landed on a cliff ledge, looking down on the villains as they grew confused at the interruption.

"Are you alright, All Might-san?"

 _Emiya Shirou?_

"Fucking villains, can't win by yourselves huh!? Weaklings!"

 _Bakugo Katsuki?_

"I'm fine," All Might answered, keeping a palm on his bleeding gut. "Thanks for the save, you two."

" **Aw come on**!" The bestial villain cried out in annoyance. " **This is why you should've helped out sooner!** "

"Shut up, Angra!" The pale villain retorted. "We just have to do it again."

" **Tch, can't do that…** " It muttered, the shadows on his body fading rapidly. " **…I'm all out** of time."

Once the shadows dispersed, all that remained was a single man with a very much shattered bone-white mask on his face. Had it broke in the middle of their fight somehow?

All Might's own face wasn't broken beyond repair, so perhaps it was the debris that did it.

The villain's body finally slumped down onto his knees weakly. "This body is gonna break now… fucks sake."

"We should retreat, Shigaraki Tomura," Kurogiri advised. "With both Nomu and Angra Mainyu out of it, we cannot defeat the symbol of peace."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Shigaraki cried out, arms raised as he prepared to charge. "We can still kill him! I can still–"

"Right, fuck this."

In an instant, Angra Mainyu slumped back up and slammed a fist at the nape of his ally. That very same ally fell to his knees as his consciousness faded, only to be dropped into a blackened portal by Kurogiri.

"He's gonna kill me for that later," Angra Mainyu mused. He sent a look back up to the cliff. "Looks like I wasn't able to kill either of you this time! Lucky break for you, right?"

 _Either?_

All Might was confused on that statement but didn't let his expression show.

"God damn it this mask is getting in the way…" The villain growled in agitation. He raised his palms weakly and ripped it off of his–

… _what?_

"Much better!" The… villain, cried out in relief. "It was fucking stuffy in there man. Glad that's gone now."

Bakugo stared, his mouth falling open at the sight. "… The fuck is this?"

"Stop dawdling and get into the portal," Kurogiri berated, feeling just a tad bit more assertive now that Angra Mainyu's 'other' form was gone. "The other Pro Heroes will be here soon."

Angra Mainyu nodded and ruffled his fingers behind his hair. "Fine, fine. Big boss is going to be pissed."

The two villains faded, but their shock did not.

All Might turned a simple glance to Emiya Shirou, who wore a similar expression of shock.

"Oi, Sword-bastard," Bakugo growled, yet there wasn't much aggression in there. Far more shock and confusion if anything. "Why did that bastard…"

All Might's student struggled to find a way to word it carefully and gave up, resorting to his usual brutish tone.

"… Why the fuck did that mook have your damn face!?"

From the clueless expression that Emiya had, they wouldn't be getting answers anytime soon.

"… Let's focus on getting to a safe place first," Young Emiya suggested. "It's a bit too dangerous to be out in the open right now."

"I agree with your confusion, young Bakugo," All Might found himself saying. "However, I say we follow young Emiya's suggestion. We can talk about this later."

Bakugo looked like he wanted to argue, but growled to himself and walked away.

All Might followed suit with Emiya Shirou, but none of them said a word.

They were all far too confused on what had just happened today.

Too many concerns and far too many questions.

A little rest in a jacuzzi… All Might wasn't going to say 'No' to that idea.

* * *

 **A/N: Ahahaha... this was a long one. Like seriously wtf, it was larger than the last.**

 **It was probably for the best though, L33t pointed out that what I had originally was lacking in several areas. So, because I wanted to end this arc on this chapter, I decided to keep writing until I find a place for a suitable conclusion. Let me tell, it was not easy in the slightest. I had to rewrite that part so many times that it isn't even funny. There was an iteration where Angra Mainyu didn't get to use his 'new' ability, an iteration where Midoriya rushes off recklessly out of character, and another where All Might finds the Nomu and uses Gae Bolg just for a second.**

 **Ultimately I went with this one because it works out for the best in the long run.**

 **Moving on forward– OH MY ROOT did you see that latest episode of BNHA? Deku vs Explosion Murder King was great, definitely one of the memorable scenes. Granted, I read the Manga already so I knew it was coming, but seeing it animated (especially the Sakuga scenes) was a joy that I can hardly find in other modern anime.**

 **Oh right. On a less interesting note that you can completely ignore, this is to the guest who said that I didn't like criticism that isn't flattery. This isn't the case whatsoever. I like reviews when they're used for what they're named for, a review of the story itself thus far. Reviews from BrawlMario bring a smile to my face, but it isn't the real meat of what I look for.**

 **Seeing what others thought is a side bonus, but what I'm looking for are the people who have issues and bring them up. I then research to see if these issues are valid. This entire chapter was rewritten countless times just because L33t said it didn't have enough impact, and so I followed through and rewrote it. Good reviews help to point out the flaws and imperfections in a story, in order to help both the story and its author to grow as a result. Reviews from ZennithTempest are rare, harsh, but true. The ideal review that I want to be recieving.**

 **If you had an account, then I would've been able to directly converse with you about what you found bad about the story and possibly improve the quality overall. I'm not a perfect author. I'm an amateur and novice at best, so I take every opportunity to find what I'm doing wrong and improve myself, as every good author should. Complacency is the true enemy (and hunger).**

 **Alright, moving on from that tirade, back to proper subject matter. Mainly something fate related. FGO JP has its Accel Order event going away soon (No...! The QP!) so now I'm going to be stuck farming Valyrie's until they drop rainbow ingots for Skadi. On the plus side, I rolled 30 for the heck of it and got a second copy of OG Arturia for myself. This marks my second NP 2 SSR servant (the other being Iskandar).**

 **Let's see... nothing else notable right now. Feel free to leave a review if you have any gripes, annoyances, confusions, or concerns about the fic. I'll try to answer them as best as I can.**

 **Until next time.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Minor edits.**


	21. Chapter 20 - A Sword's Lament

**Chapter 20**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

Tsukauchi Naomasa muffled a petulant sigh in order to focus on the situation at hand, or rather the detained villains that were being shoved into a nearby transport convoy.

Off towards the distance, he saw Mount Lady leading the rest of the U.A. students back into the school proper, where it was most likely safe from stray villains. All Might followed them alongside a blond haired teen and a familiar Emiya Shirou.

Or was it Takeyama-Emiya Shirou?

In honesty, Tsukauchi didn't really know.

They had come underprepared for the scale of the villain attack. When Tsukauchi originally came with reinforcements, he didn't expect that every villain that they encountered had already been defeated.

In hindsight, All Might was there so he shouldn't have really worried so much for the children, but he still held that worry for his old friend.

All Might, or rather Toshinori had hidden it rather well – with his stripped, yellow, worn and torn teacher's suit – but Tsukauchi could see the slight winces and grunts as he made his way out of USJ.

He had been wounded. A villain during that attack was dangerous enough to wound All Might, the very Symbol of Peace among their society.

Tsukauchi knew he wasn't invincible, yet the fact remains that their number one hero had received some trouble in that encounter… and that the very same villain that wounded him had escaped.

 _This is getting worrisome…_

Villains always got stronger on the second encounter, that was the most basic rule of their line of work.

Although, the next time this villain appeared, the heroes and students of this school would not be caught unprepared. Tsuragamae Kenji – the chief of the Hosu police force – was in the middle of a meeting with both U.A.'s principal and Musutafu's own police force chief about improved security measure.

For some reason, police chiefs from both Musutafu and Hosu felt that this was a very pressing issue. Hopefully, they'd come up with a solution together, or at least some form of countermeasure.

Tsukauchi shook away the distracting thoughts.

He had something more important to focus on.

"Report," Tsukauchi ordered as he approached a fellow officer. Vaguely he remembered that he had a birthday today, but celebrations would have to come later. "What's the situation?"

"The perimeter is secured, we've already sent in a unit to retrieve the downed villains," He reported. "The pro heroes have already agreed to accompany our units. The present plan is to sweep the forest before moving towards the designated disaster zones."

That was a good plan. There could always be villains hiding away just looking for an opening or even the slightest chance to escape. Not that they could with the numerous units surrounding the building, each with heat-vision, x-ray, sonar-detection, and other such detection equipment.

A bit superfluous, but when there could be quirk users that could slip past even the greatest of surveillance drones, then it didn't really appear to be so.

Still, even with the greatest equipment, human wit could overcome it –

"Good," Tsukauchi said. "If the chief gets back any time soon, notify him that I'm going to be accompanying them."

– Hence, why he decided to go in himself.

Tsukauchi walked away and focused on the crumbling building before him, debris falling to the side as emergency teams handled damage control.

The wall beside the entrance had been destroyed which let a few slightly villains hobble out only to be detained – courtesy of Mount Lady – and the ceiling above had holes in seemingly random segments.

While Tsukauchi didn't know why the ceiling had faltered, he felt that it was related to All Might, somehow. A strange sixth sense just told him that.

As he stepped into the building, it did not take long before a pair of officers walked out beside him, an unconscious villain wearing a skull mask in tow.

Tsukauchi recognized the villain. He was wanted and charged for arson, yet he distinctively remembered handing this one off to the prison warden.

 _That means he was a_ _n escapee…_

Almost all of these villains had been detained weeks or even months ago, yet they had all escaped for this single planned attack, right under the noses of the police force. That itself set a worrying precedent.

Rushed footsteps echoed from behind him, to which Tsukauchi turned and found a fellow officer, a senior officer by the looks of his badge, hurried over to him with bated breath.

"Sir! You need to come and see this."

Tsukauchi held his breath and prevented his irritation from being shown. "You know that we have a radio for a reason, senior officer?" However, that didn't stop Tsukauchi's feet from hurrying on forward as he followed the senior officer. "Give me a summary."

"W-well… we found a villain," The senior officer said. "However, he seems to be… incapacitated."

"Any additional detail?"

"There seems to be a spear through his heart."

Tsukauchi's feet momentarily stalled. It was with great effort that he did not promptly fall over, but the slow blink he gave back told enough.

 _What?_

He pushed past the scenery, through the shattered tree trunks, eviscerated landscape, and fallen concrete…

… Where he found a coal-black body, bleeding long since halted, with bits and pieces of limbs strewn across the forest floor. A bloody crimson spear glistening – seemingly from the broken ceiling's pale sunlight – as several officers around tried to ignore it lest their stomachs fail them.

Tsukauchi knew the worst side of humanity, he had seen villains do worse than what he was looking at right now… but even so, it did not quell the unnerving groan his gut returned to him.

Tsukauchi didn't recognize this one, which meant that this was a new villain, possibly related to why this attack had occurred at all. Although that was only conjecture, the villain could easily be a random one found from off the street.

The police inspector did not address the rest of the officers on the scene, who were all too busy snapping photos for evidence and collecting a few blood samples. Instead, Tsukauchi walked over to the body and gazed at the spear.

An officer, a new recruit by the looks of it, looked a tad bit green on his face but held it in, finding the task of picturing the spear more important.

"This is terrible…" The recruit muttered. "This guy was a villain, right? Even villains don't deserve this…"

Tsukauchi could count a few people in their very own department that would disagree but did not state it out loud. Instead, he gazed at the body, the eyes rolled back and gazing nowhere as its brain had been sliced open.

"What are we looking at?" Tsukauchi asked. However, he was gazing towards a separate officer, a field medic that had been in their department for several years already working on an autopsy.

"Hmm…" The medic muttered, ignoring the looks of disgust he received as he grabbed a coal-black dismembered fingers to inspect, medical gloves included of course. "This is an index finger… and yet the body has two fingers already…"

The medic then gazed at all the other body parts. "There are other body parts here and yet the body itself has them already present. Perhaps this villain had regeneration as a quirk?"

"Very possible…" Tsukauchi admitted. "I heard that fighting those with a regeneration quirk is a hard task, especially if they could not be damaged…" Not to mention the fact that this villain's arm was wider than his entire body. "It's very possible that subduing him was impossible and killing was the only choice left… in other words, self-defense."

"Self-defense?" The recruit muttered with a hint of grim acceptance. "Man, heroes-in-training get scarier every day if they could do that."

"Yes… or rather, one in particular…" Tsukauchi didn't know why that left his mouth, but luckily no one else had heard him and kept to their roles.

It was a blood red spear, unlike anything they had ever seen before, completely unique with the way the design of it seemed to scream out in an almost bestial nature… and yet, why would someone leave it behind?

The only reason Tsukauchi could think of was that it was disposable… as if more could always be made…

–Once more, a ginger boy appeared in his mind.

… like with a weapon-creation quirk.

"Look at this, inspector Tsukauchi," the medic called once more. "Look in the chest cavity where the spear is. What can you tell me?"

Tsukauchi knew he wasn't one to play around so obliged. He leaned over and peered into the gaping hole, where the ravaged and shredded heart of the body sat. The spear was still lodged there too – very evident from how deep it was driven – driving into the dirt beneath it as well.

Tsukauchi knew that wasn't all so focused a little harder. Their medic was an eccentric about these types of situations so what he'd focus on would be the actual heart itself…

… the still twitching and flubbing heart?

"Is he still trying to regenerate!?"

The recruit next to him nearly tripped over a limb as he heard his impromptu shout.

"Yes, it seems like it… and yet," The medic confirmed with hesitance. "Its heart is, without a doubt, essential for its regenerative process, yet the spear is keeping the heart from fully regenerating, evident from how the necrosis isn't spreading as far as it usually would. It is very possible that the heart itself is the very origin point for the regenerative quirk."

While there was indeed a gaping hole on the heart, there were also numerous lacerations all around it, almost as if someone had taken a line of barbed wire and tightly wrapped it around the heart… or as if something had sprouted out from within it.

Tsukauchi sent one more glance at the aptly-colored bloody red spear.

After all his years working as a police inspector, it was clear to him that there was without a doubt in his mind that this spear unnerved him greatly. As to why it did so, he could not tell.

 _What in the world did Yu's kid make?_

Tsukauchi frowned as he turned back to the medic. "In layman's terms?"

"If we isolate the heart, then nothing else of the body will try to regenerate." The medic concluded.

Tsukauchi would need to remember his name soon. He felt bad that he still didn't know it, which isn't odd seeing as the medic never really gave out his name for some reason.

"Prepare a team to transport the body," Tsukauchi ordered the recruit, who saluted and made his way to a nearby team, all the while he turned back towards the broken entrance of USJ.

Tsukauchi sighed in exhaustion.

He was not looking forward to handing in this report.

* * *

Shirou would have let out a sigh of relief, knowing that it would do nothing with the tense atmosphere around him, but he himself knew he had almost nothing to be relieved about.

The villains had escaped.

Enemies would always get stronger on their second encounter, which means that Shirou would have to be prepared, all of them would have to be.

All Might had left earlier, leaving both Shirou and Bakugo with their classmates. They were all being led towards their respective classrooms so that they could get their things and simply call it a day.

The one leading them through the winding road to their classroom was none other than Mount Lady.

His adoptive mother.

The same mother that was currently watching over four of his classmates – Asui Tsuyu, Mineta Minoru, Kirishima Eijiro, and Midoriya Izuku – as they were taken to the infirmary by familiar robotic drones.

He didn't pay attention to any possible banter that the robots were seemingly programmed to have – something about being useless meat-bags – but instead focused on the fact that his mother turned back towards him once their wounded classmates were out of sight.

"Shirou! Are you okay!?" She rushed over to him, admittedly weaving through the crowd of his classmates without issue, and grasped his head. She looked over him in a worry. "Did you hit your head anywhere like that frog girl? Are your ribs okay? They didn't crack, right!?"

His ribs did break a while ago from Avenger's kick, but he had always healed fast so it didn't stay long.

He didn't realize that it wasn't normal to heal a couple of broken ribs.

"No. I'm fine, Yu."

"Are you sure…?" Yu muttered unsurely. "What if it's a late reaction? I should get you over to Recovery Girl…"

"I'm fine, Yu," Shirou replied. "If anything, everyone else seems worse off than me."

Yu sent a glance to all his classmates, who had stopped to stare with wide eyes of confusion, and shrugged.

"Meh, they can come along too."

That wasn't the answer I was hoping for.

"Um… Mount Lady, was it?" Yaoyorozu chimed, raising a hand as she did so. "What is your relation to Emiya-san…?"

Yu, the most prominently well-known upstart female professional hero, simply blinked with a raised brow. "He's my son, why?"

 _…Yu, you really need to learn a little bit of tact._

""WHAT!?""

The thunderous roar of confusion came from the crowd, yet its intensity did not seem to subside.

"You're his mother!?"

"You don't have the same last name though…?"

"You lucky bastard!"

One of those wasn't like the other, but Shirou didn't let it remain a concern in his mind. He didn't need to make it one seeing as Jiro promptly kicked the offender onto his rear.

"I'm adopted," Shirou added to quell the confusion. "Look, I'm sure we're all tired so let's just all get to class so we can go, okay?"

It seemed that the rest of his classmates followed his suggestion, some with reluctance, but none of them could deny that they wanted the sweet safety and comfort of their homes.

Yu left him and hopped her way to the front of the group, taking point to lead them once more. Wait a minute, did Yu know her way around U.A? Oh right, she was an alumnus of the school, wasn't she?

"Oi."

Shirou did not flinch at the harsh tone because he noticed the caution that was held under it. He was at the far back of the group where no one could hear them if they whispered. "What is it, Bakugo-san?"

"Does she fucking know?" Bakugo whispered, which wasn't really saying much since he was still a bit too loud. "Does she know about that guy?"

Shirou shook his head. "No, she doesn't… and before you ask, neither do I."

"Tch…" Bakugo growled with a frowned. "Fine, you sword bastard! Keep your damn secrets!"

Bakugo pushed forward closer into the group, not close enough to be a part of it but close enough that there was a bit of distance between Shirou and the blonde student.

Shirou held no ill will and he could tell that Bakugo held none as well, but he knew that the teen was frustrated beyond belief.

Shirou knew this because he felt the same.

"Well, here's close enough," Yu declared as she came to an abrupt stop, halting the metaphorical train of students in the same manner. "There are tons of security cameras and pro heroes on the premises so you guys should be safe to walk in. Off you go~"

A couple students hesitated, but the much more weary ones decided it was best not to question her and hurried along. The hesitant students followed soon after.

Shirou made to do the same.

"Hurry up, okay?"

Shirou's feet did not stall. Instead, they hastened at Yu's behest. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should be doing so… the worried tone she seemed to be holding for the entirety of the escort trip seemed to weigh heavily on them both.

* * *

Yu sighed at his retreating figure.

To think that all she wanted to do was give him his lunch… what a blunder that was. She didn't even manage to do that small task.

She knew she was being unfair to herself – she couldn't really give it to him since the school was under attack – but she couldn't help it! The child she adopted was thrust into danger and she couldn't do anything to stop it!

 _URGH!_

It frustrated her, truly it did.

"Mount Lady?"

 _Hm, that was a familiar voice._

Yu turned around and watched as several pro heroes walked pass her, most likely towards USJ itself, but only a single one halted in his steps to face her.

"Shinji?" She muttered before looking at the collection of professional heroes, seeing that most of them were less combat orientated and more for detaining and capture operations, much like himself. "Oh, you're here to help detain the villains, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," He concluded, watching as his colleagues traveled towards the crumbling building. "I am surprised that you are not off to aid them as well."

 _True, her quirk was good at both combat and restraining…_

"Well…" Yu muttered once more, staring off into the school proper. "There are a lot of things going on…"

Nishiya Shinji – or popularly known as Kamui Woods – followed her gaze, finding his own soften in response. "Worrying for your son?"

"… Was it that obvious?" Yu moaned. "Yeah, you're right. He was just in the middle of something like that…"

"I'm sure he will be fine," Nishiya commented. "From what I remember, he had a strong gaze. Someone with a gaze like that wouldn't be shaken from a disaster such as this."

Yu snickered. "Speaking from experience?"

"Yes."

At the blunt response, she couldn't help but snicker once more. "Yeah, he'll be fine… but that's not what I'm worried about."

He raised a brow in confusion. "Then what would be the matter?"

Yu sighed, once more with bated breath, staring back at the school, no longer as impenetrable as once thought.

"… It's the fact that I know that Shirou won't truly be shaken by it."

* * *

The moment Shirou stepped back into his classroom, he was met with all of his classmates seated around randomly almost as if in a circle.

Jiro was facing out the window alongside Sato, yet both of them kept their backs to each other. Kaminari tried striking up a conversation with Shoji, but both of them had their eyes flickering left and right. Even Yaoyorozu herself held a polearm in her grasp, gripping it every once in a while with almost no intent to let it go.

They were still in their combat mindset. It would take a day of rest before they returned to their usual selves, nothing to truly worry about.

Bakugo had seemed to leave already, probably due to the tense atmosphere. Aoyama – a blonde wearing modified armor that Shirou wasn't sure would really complement him – alongside the invisible girl, stood off to the side as they took it all in.

Those two didn't really seem like they were in conflict very much. It was likely that they hid from the attack itself, which Shirou thought was a good thing. The less danger they were in, the better.

A few more of the students that he was unfamiliar with – such as Tokoyami Fumikage, Ojiro Mashirao, Koda Koji, and Sero Hanta – sat away from their usual seats and sat in the center tables and chairs. They also seemed confused by how some of their classmates acted.

"Ah, Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu called. "I apologize, but I think we won't be able to continue our training for today."

Shirou nodded. "That's fine, I wasn't planning to do it today. Just get some rest for now…" He sent a glance to the rest of the class. "… That goes for the rest of you as well."

"We're resting though?" Kaminari argued, not noticing his eye twitching towards the windows. "Just a bit spooked, you know? Nothing wrong with being just a bit cautious, right?"

Or maybe he did notice but was trying to justify it.

"It's true that you should always be vigilant…" From the other entrance to the classroom, Todoroki walked in with his hero costume discarded in favor of his uniform. "However, if you remain stressed at times like these, then you won't be able to rest properly. There are pro heroes here, let them deal with it."

Not exactly how Shirou would put it, but that was fine. It got a few of the students to simmer down and relax, their tense muscles relaxing at the prompt.

"I'm sorry, everyone." Iida chimed up, hands clenched in frustration. "If only I had arrived earlier with the rest of the pro heroes…"

"No one here's blaming you, Emergency Exit!" Kaminari argued.

"If we're playing the blame game, then blame me," Sato called out from the side, fists clenched in frustration. "If I had cleared the way with my quirk just a bit quicker…"

"No, no, no!" Sero argued, holding his elbow out as if he was going to use it. "I should have caught that warp guy earlier and stopped him from warping!"

"Then I should have used my quirk on–"

"I should have–"

"ENOUGH!"

The entire class fell silent. They turned to the one whose voice echoed, trailing back to the one who blamed himself first, Iida Tenya.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have started this," he lamented. "Let's just forget about blaming anyone…" He let out a sigh. "Blaming won't do anyone any good."

A bit hypocritical coming from him, but Shirou said nothing and simply nodded.

After all, Shirou was a bigger hypocrite than him.

"Emiya," Todoroki called once the class had decided to begin some small banter, courtesy of Ashido. "Can I talk with you for a bit?"

Shirou didn't miss the way his head tilted to the door and obliged, following Todoroki out of the room, much to the curious gazes of their classmates. He paid them no heed and focused on the gaze he received from the heterochromatic teen.

In all honesty, Shirou didn't know what this was about. He hoped it would be an issue that they could solve relatively quickly and move on – if it was an issue at all – but he was not naive enough to believe that.

The best he could hope for was that it wasn't too serious.

They stood alone in the hallway with the afternoon amber sky being the only source of light. Neither of them really said anything, silence being their admittedly willing company.

Idly, Shirou noted that Class B wasn't here nor were any of the other students from the other courses, most likely having been evacuated once news got out that villains had infiltrated.

"You fought the ultimate countermeasure to All Might, didn't you?"

 _Ah… so that was what he wanted to talk about._

Shirou nodded, much to the creasing brow of his confused classmate.

"How?" Todoroki asked. "Midoriya said that this thing, this Nomu, was able to handle a punch from him without issue."

"I don't know," Shirou admitted. "I can only guess that it only works on blunt force."

"Ah, you use swords, which is the complete opposite of blunt force… but you don't need me to tell you that…" Todoroki muttered, his eyes downcast. "I see, that makes sense…" His gaze flickered back to the ginger magus. "… But, there's something more to it though, isn't there?"

Todoroki was certainly sharp and equally as inquisitive too, which Shirou felt were good qualities in their own right.

"Midoriya didn't see, but he also had regeneration like Aven– the Beast did," Shirou said, berating himself for his slip of tongue.

Whether Todoroki noticed it or not, Shirou couldn't really tell as he had a guarded look on at all times.

That guarded look faded into a frown.

"Regeneration…?" He repeated. "Then, wouldn't your swords be rather useless? If this Nomu could regenerate wounds then–"

"My swords would have been useless, true…" Shirou concluded before he could. He didn't really want to explain that he could create a spear that ignored regeneration while it remained present in this plain of existence, so interrupting bought him just a bit of time to think up an explanation.

Which also reminded him that he needed to somehow get rid of the Nomu permanently because Gae Bolg was starting to drain on his reserves. He wasn't sure if Gaia was still in this world, but having a Noble Phantasm – especially one that he wasn't completely use to tracing – would certainly be too much of a strain for him and his body.

"… However, its regeneration did not extend to its heart." Shirou concluded, finding that explanation at least half-truthful seeing as he didn't even know if that was true. "It fought like a mindless beast so it was easy to… predict…?"

Shirou trailed off as he noticed the wide eyes he was being sent.

Was this Todoroki's eye problem again? Shirou had seen something irritating them while they visited Archer's cafe.

"You… killed?"

That tone of voice…

Shirou grimaced as he took it in.

"It was threatening the lives of all our classmates," Shirou replied as cordially as he could. "I don't like the thought of killing either, but if killing it would have kept everyone alive, then I would gladly do so."

"Really? You-" Todoroki found himself uttering. There was confusion in his eyes, but held tightly under his self-control. "… The fact that you killed a villain doesn't bother you, at all? Not even a bit?"

Shirou shook his head.

"It doesn't, Todoroki-san."

He didn't consider the villain Nomu to really be a person to begin with. Kanshou and Bakuya's anti-monster properties had been reacting to it heavily, implying it was more monster than man.

In addition, taking into consideration how it fought and how it acted…

It was without a doubt a mindless monster… there was no reason that he should feel regret in killing it… right?

In turn, Shirou gazed out the window, finding the sun starting to set almost entirely.

"I have to go," Shirou declared. "It was nice talking with you, Todoroki-san. However, my mother will be worried if I stay out too long."

Todoroki moved to argue, but once more he halted before he could make a sound. Thoughts were rampaging in the boy's head, yet Shirou did not know how to help him in that.

In the end, he managed to get something out before Shirou even touched the classroom door. "... You don't see anything wrong with this? Don't you know that killing is wrong? That's not the job of a hero."

"No, I don't," Shirou confirmed, a soft frown settling on his visage. "You may not wholly agree with my decision, but it was for the best." Hopefully, what he said could be taken as some form of closure. "… If there was another way… then I would have taken it."

Killing the few to save the many… it was something that Archer had adopted, but something that Shirou himself hated. After all, he wanted to save everyone.

The Nomu wasn't a person. It might have been alive but it wasn't sentient, it wasn't something that could be saved. The fact that it was already a mindless monster in the eyes of a Noble Phantasm only solidified this idea.

He didn't fail, everyone had already been saved. None of his classmates had died and most of the villains were being rounded up already.

… All he did was slay a monster…

 _A monster, not a person… right…_

When Shirou returned to the classroom to grab his clothes and head to the changing rooms, not once did he turn to see the look that Todoroki had sent at his retreating figure.

* * *

Asui Tsuyu, severe concussion with a possible skull fracture.

Mineta Minoru, torn scalp and bruised limbs.

Kirishima Eijiro, physically healthy and yet unable to wake up.

… and Midoriya Izuku, several broken bones in both his limbs and ribs.

As All Might – now in his skeletal and significantly less muscled form of Toshinori Yagi – sat in the infirmary with only a single sigh escaping his maw. He worried for his students, as any other teacher should, but knew that they would be fine so long as Recovery Girl was there.

When he first arrived in the infirmary – after concluding a small meeting with the principal – he had found Recovery Girl diligently treating their wounds. She used her quirk on each of them, even the young and physically-able Kirishima.

Asui Tsuyu had recovered enough so that she would wake up by the end of tomorrow. The same could be said for Mineta Minoru and Midoriya Izuku, much to Toshinori's relief.

They'd have to send a notification to all their parents to pick them up, hurting the school's reputation in the process… However, school reputation be damned, as long as his students were fine, then all was right in the world.

The main problem here was with young Kirishima.

The ginger student had awoken after treatment, causing a bit of an incident when he used his quirk instantly to attack whatever came close, but calmed down once he realized that he was no longer in USJ.

Recovery Girl had deemed him physically capable enough and allowed him to leave, which young Kirishima did. Although Toshinori could not shake off the feeling that his student was still off in some way.

Not physically, he was walking fine and without a doubt recovered, yet there was a very small yet minute difference in his behavior.

Toshinori had not known the student for long, yet he had the feeling that young Kirishima was supposed to be rushing out of the infirmary with haste in his step… not walking slowly with his eyes staring hard into the marble floor.

There was something mental happening to him, something out of Toshinori's expertise.

Recovery Girl was not incompetent and noticed what he had far long before he actually did. She handed the young Kirishima a slip of paper, most likely with her phone number, if he needed any help. She didn't specify what that help meant or was but Toshinori had a feeling that young Kirishima just knew.

… those were his students. His precious students. He wasn't even close to tackling the injuries and pains that his fellow pro heroes – both Thirteen and Aizawa – had faced while trying their very best to protect them.

Thirteen, having several lacerations and ruptures on his back, would have bled out without the aid of young Sero Hanta's quirk. In a way, the student had saved his life.

… and Aizawa… concussion on his head severely worse than the one that young Asui had suffered. Skin having been turned to dust which allowed his muscles to be seen with the naked eye, no doubt letting thousands of germs and infections to seep into his body. Limbs broken in odd places as if they were twigs…

… All of which could have been solved if he had arrived earlier.

Toshinori sighed in frustration once his students had left. Tugging off his rugged and battered teacher's suit and revealing the bandages that wrapped his torso, where that villain had stabbed and dug around in his flesh.

"If only I had been quicker…" Toshinori muttered in lament. "While I was relaxing in my office drinking coffee… my colleagues and students were–"

"Stop with that, All Might."

His words fell as he sent a glance to Recovery Girl. "But if I had–"

"Do you have superhuman hearing? Do you have precognition? Can you predict the future?" She asked with incredulity. "No? Then nothing. You could not have predicted what happened. The villains got us all by surprise."

She hopped onto a stool so she could stare straight into the eyes of the sitting Toshinori. "I'll repeat in just in case your brain becomes the Symbol of Idiocy. It wasn't your fault, are we clear?"

As tense as the situation was, it was nostalgic to him. Toshinori often remembered his old teachers reprimanding him for being too hasty, being too reckless, and above all… being too unforgiving of himself.

"Apologies, Recovery Girl," Toshinori offered. "I seem to have lost myself there..."

"With an altruistic fool like you, it's obvious that you would," Recovery Girl berated with a sigh. "What's done is done, no need to beat yourself up for what had already passed."

Toshinori let a small chuckle escape him. "Yes... I suppose you're right."

The wounds his students had were grievous, yet Toshinori decided that taking solace in the fact that they had lived through that incident was good enough.

In that single moment, he could not help but remember the one who had helped him onto this path of heroism...

 _Master... even now, I still have a long way to go, right?_

The sound of a door being slid open caught his attention.

"Excuse me," the voice said. "All Might, it's been a while."

Toshinori mellowed. "Tsukauchi? You're here too?"

"Well, it was a big incident," The inspector chuckled out the reply as he shut the door. "How are the students?"

Toshinori sighed. "They're recovering just fine. They'll be able to leave once their parents come to pick them up."

"That's good news," Tsukauchi said with a smile. That faded when he let out a sigh. "Sorry to cut to the chase, but has an officer already interviewed you?"

"Yeah…" Toshinori muttered. "I told them all I knew, which wasn't much."

He had told them about how he subdued a plethora of villains at the entrance before being ambushed by a special villain, one with a confusing quirk capable of reflecting damage towards the one that inflicted it.

He had told them of their battle, of how his power was useless in it and how that villain was without a doubt, a danger to any pro hero that would try to fight him head-on.

… and he had told them of how a team of villains had caught him in a trap, where he would have fallen, or gotten gravely injured at the very least if it weren't for the intervention of two of his students.

That was all he knew. After the fight, he had wounded up straight in the infirmary with his students, only being lightly injured thanks to Recovery Girl's quirk.

"I thought as much," Tsukauchi muttered with a sigh. "Well then, might as well let you in on the information. You are the Symbol of Peace, after all."

As Tsukauchi grabbed a stool to sit on, Toshinori straightened his own back to listen properly.

"Based on the testimonies from both students and captured villains, the perpetrators for this incident is a group known as the League of Villains," Tsukauchi started. "They were responsible for breaking out prisoners and rounding up the villains for an assault."

Toshinori sighed. "I thought as much…"

"We know that one of them is known as Kurogiri and has a warp-quirk, but apparently he's an underling to the pale villain named Shigaraki Tomura," Tsukauchi continued. "This one was the apparent ringleader, capable of reducing objects into dust via disintegration of some kind."

 _So that was who broke down the U.A. barrier…_

"As for their third member, named Angra Mainyu apparently… I'm sure you were already acquainted with him, correct?" Tsukauchi asked. At Toshinori's nod, he continued. "After running a check with eye-witnesses, he was someone who we had detained previously but escaped, most likely through the aid of villains Shigaraki Tomura and Kurogiri."

"Oh, so we have records of him. That is good news." Toshinori commented.

"Yes… although, what we had on him has already been considered outdated," He sighed as he continued. "He was apparently the villain known for brutally murdering blonde civilians like a wild beast."

 _Like a–?_

"Ah… That fellow…" Toshinori muttered. He had recognized it from that small description alone, for it was a truly tragic incident to behold. "Wasn't he described to be wild and mindless?"

"That's what we thought…" Tsukauchi muttered. "However, it appears his few months with the League of Villains have done wonders for his psyche…" He chuckled just a bit. "At least we won't have to hire a psychiatrist for him again."

He coughed to himself. "Moving on. It was reported that the Beast had a quirk for reflecting pain, not damage. It is very possible that he had somehow strengthened his quirk during those few months… and gained another one."

… _What?_

Toshinori felt his heart stop.

"That regeneration wasn't a part of his original quirk, was it?" Toshinori asked, unknowing that his hand had trailed to the railing of an empty nearby bed.

At the nod he received, Toshinori swallowed some bile that threatened to rise.

"So… _he_ has decided to make a move…" Toshinori gazed out the window, unaware that his shrunken form had grown as he gripped the railing, bending and warping the metal like paper.

"Yes, he has," Tsukauchi muttered. "However, that isn't all, All Might."

"What more is there?" Toshinori asked, a hint of incredulity in his tone. Something he could not help after the news he had just gotten.

"There was a fourth villain."

* * *

Shirou stepped into the apartment to follow Yu, who had already dove straight towards the bathroom to get a quick shower. She had said that he was going to be next, which he had no complaints over.

Once he had left his classmates, an unfamiliar officer had came over to him and talked. It was routine apparently, asking the victims for a testimony of what they were doing during the attack in order to aid the investigation. Shirou had no problem with saying what he had done but kept several key points hidden enough so his magecraft wouldn't be revealed.

After that, the officer left and interviewed the rest of his classmates. Shirou didn't really know what else had happened afterward because Yu dragged him off into a taxi.

Shirou sat down on the living room couch, placing his bag to the side and stared out their apartment window towards the relatively peaceful night sky.

A far cry from what his classmates had experienced today.

He felt it deep in his bones, there was something more Shirou could have done and he knew it.

Could he have prevented Midoriya from over using his power?

Could he have prevented Aizawa from being beaten half to death?

Could he have prevented Avenger from getting away?

He didn't know, but something deep within him told him so.

The bathroom door opened quickly as a robed Yu walked out.

"Done already?" Shirou commented. "I expected you to take longer."

"I just needed a quick fresh shower~" Yu drawled before narrowing her eyes on him. "Besides, you need it more than I do. No offense, but you do stink a lot."

Shirou simple sighed as he walked into the bathroom.

"I'll whip up a quick dinner, okay?" He heard Yu call from her room, most likely changing into something comfortable.

"Okay!" Shirou shouted back once he put away his clothes into a nearby laundry basket.

It didn't take long before his shower was done and he returned to his room to change, around five minutes or so. Hopefully, he could go over and help Yu out in her cooking, he needed that sweet relief.

When Shirou stepped into the dining room – wearing a black polo shirt with a sword on it that Yu bought because she thought it was funny – he found that there were already plates set up alongside the cutlery.

So Yu already learned how to arrange the table while she cooked? That was interesting. It meant Shirou had less work to do, which was not really something that he found to be relieving.

He ventured into the kitchen, ready to help his adoptive mother out in her endeavors, only to be stopped by Yu herself.

"Nope, just sit down over there and wait." She said while gesturing to the nearby couch.

Shirou admittedly felt his brow twitch in what must have been in irritation. "Pardon?"

"You just came back from a villain attack and you expect me – your mother – to let you work your ass off in the kitchen as soon as you come back?" Yu said. "Not happening, get comfortable on the couch because I'm not done here."

The ginger magus could only watch as Yu sauntered back into the kitchen, his holy paradise of relaxation, and resumed cooking.

 _Was this envy?_

Should someone like him be feeling something like envy?

Shirou parsed his mouth and sighed in irritation. He could have disregarded her orders, but he knew that she had some sense in them. Any regular person would want their loved ones to rest after an experience such as the recent attack…

… However, Shirou wasn't a regular person. He had a feeling Yu knew this too, but why keep him from cooking?

"Can I just–?"

"Nope!"

 _I didn't even finish that sentence!_

Shirou held back the retort and walked off to the couch. He sat down abruptly and – after a quick inhale – exhaled deeply.

He was irritated.

 _Avenger be damned, this was a far bigger issue!_

After several minutes of a painstaking wait, Yu finally exited the kitchen with two covered bowls, most likely containing what she had cooked up... and Shirou had no idea what it was. The scent couldn't really escape from it so he was at a loss as to what it could be.

Possibly a soup? But he hadn't gotten around to teach Yu that, so maybe some form of a don?

It was definitely a don, judging by the chopsticks she had balanced neatly on top of it.

"It's done!" Yu cheered, raising a spatula in triumph. The presence of a spatula could mean that there was meat in the don, possible fried seeing as anything else would need more time. "Now, let's get eating!"

Feeling a bit calmed by the upbeat attitude, Shirou let out a small sigh – something he had become accustomed to doing – and took a seat by the dining table.

He couldn't really help the slight pout he wore on his slightly childish face as he took off the bowl cover. He was met with the usual appearance of a don. It was without a doubt a chicken breast on top of lightly seasoned rice. Nothing too extravagant even when you considered the haphazard mint for garnish.

It was an acceptable first look for a beginner's dish.

Shirou noticed that Yu did not begin eating as she normally would, but instead focused a look directly towards him as if awaiting some form of judgment.

With a subtle nod, Shirou grabbed the chopsticks – which were made of stainless steel so they could be reused after a simple wash – and held the chicken securely.

Nothing seemed out of place, so Shirou gave it a bite.

Soft and easy to tear with his teeth, which meant that Yu had remembered to tenderize it. He tasted a hint of salt and pepper on it too, most likely residue from the rice seasoning, as well as an almost buttery tang. She must have buttered the pan while frying it.

Shirou quickly added a portion of rice to his maw, noting how the salt and pepper didn't overwhelm the sense much like her previous dishes and chewed.

After a quick judge of the dish, Shirou shrugged. "Simple and could've been better, but not too bad."

 _Especially considering what_ _her cooking was like_ _a long time ago._

"Yes!" Yu cheered, gripping her chopsticks with vigor. "That's approval if I ever saw it. By the way, how would you have improved it?"

He would have already improved it if he was in the kitchen.

"You could have used other forms of seasonings or spices to improve the chicken's flavor," Shirou started. "Not to mention that since you most likely pan fried it, there must be some buttery residue left on the pan, right?"

"How did you know!?"

 _It's obvious when you know where to look._

"If you fried the rice on the same pan you cooked the chicken with, then you could have had fried rice that shared a similar flavor due to the remaining chicken juices, enhancing the unity of the dish," Shirou concluded. "Other than that, not too sure. I'd have to experiment myself."

If only he were talking about his magecraft, then Rin would have been proud.

"Damn, if only I thought of that…" Yu growled in annoyance. She finally sighed as she let go of that frustration. "I'll write that down later. In the mean time, mind telling me personally what happened during the attack?"

"Is this for your hero report?" Shirou asked, biting into the chicken with another mouthful of rice.

"Yes and no," Yu said after swallowing a bit of dinner. "Yes, because having a bit of information for my report would be great… but it's also a no," Her eyes mellowed. "… I'm your mother. I want to know what happened, Shirou."

Shirou felt an uneasy frown develop on him, but because the bowl was up to his face, Yu couldn't see it. Somehow, he thought of that as a good thing.

"I'll tell you what I told the officer," Shirou parroted. "I helped a classmate of mine escape to get help and went off to help Aizawa as soon as possible–"

"Why?"

He blinked at the interruption, lowering the bowl and gazing back at Yu, the pro hero having long since devoured her bowl of dinner.

Shirou would have noted the impressive feat but from the look in her eye… it was both nonchalant yet focused. A dichotomy that Shirou didn't know could exist.

It unnerved him.

"What do you mean?" Shirou found himself saying.

"Why did you throw yourself in danger? When the teachers specifically told you not to?" Yu questioned. "And don't lie, I asked your classmates while you were talking with that blonde kid earlier."

That was when he was talking to Bakugo…

Shirou sighed.

"Aizawa looked like he needed help," Shirou replied. "He was trapped without a chance for escape and by chance a few of my classmates were there too. So in the end, by going there, I ended up saving them."

Yu regarded him for a second before sighing.

"I know that…" She muttered with her downcast eyes growing mellow by the second. "I know that… yet it doesn't make me feel happy, you know?" Her eyes rose back to him. "I know you managed to save people, but you're still my son. Hearing that you put yourself in danger like that isn't something I'd like hearing on a daily basis."

Shirou furrowed his brow. "What do you mean by daily–?"

"If you become a pro hero, then you'll be throwing yourself at villains until there'll be no more jobs for the rest of us," She said it lightly, yet there was sadness encroaching on that tone. "Day in and day out, once you become an adult you'll just keep fighting… but what about your own? You're a person too, my own son."

Shirou frowned... something that Yu already caught onto as he finished his dinner.

"I told you why I wanted to be a hero, right?"

Yu nodded, it was a story that neither of them could forget. A couple of months after the adoption was finalized, Shirou had told her that he wanted to be as happy as his father who saved him. He envied that look of being saved, his look of utter joy.

It was something that Yu both admired yet abhorred, but Shirou could not understand why.

"Saving people isn't wrong," Shirou said. "Besides, everything ended alright. There's nothing to worry about now."

Other than Avenger still being on the loose with a whole League of Villains beside him.

"I know that that but it's still frustrating–!"

Yu's rant fell silent before it could fully take shape. She took a calming breath and let out a sigh.

"You're preaching to the choir here, Shirou. I'm a hero too, you know? Saving people is my job… but that doesn't mean that I make it my only reason for living."

She leveled her gaze. Shirou didn't miss the glistening in her eyes as tears threatened to fall.

"I have you, my son, here as my reason for living. A person shouldn't just live for a single goal in mind, not like what you want." She rose from her chair. "Damn it… I sound like my mom. Sorry about today, Shirou."

She walked away, most likely back to her room to rest from the very stressful day.

"But…" Yu muttered as she turned back. "I am happy that you're alright, Shirou."

Shirou heard a door close itself while he continued to stare at the empty bowl in his hands.

He sighed and stared up to the dangling ceiling light, noting that the gripping feeling that coiled around his chest did not fade… all the while the wall clock to the side ticked away.

… Looks like he was going to be doing the dishes tonight.

* * *

 **A/N: There's the official 20th chapter. It's a bit short somewhat, but I feel like extending it with scenes I could use for later chapters for much greater impact wasn't a good option.**

 **My exams ended for this semester so I had the time to finally update... maybe I won't be late for my other fic this time.**

 **Honestly, I don't feel like there's anything to say much at the end here. New FGO JP event coming soon (I got the second Mecha-Elli as my new welfare so now I have two of them), Warframe update coming (with rapid-fire hotfixes which makes it impossible for me to install the game), several new anime out to watch (Tensei Slime, Bunny Girl, To aru S3, and SAO S3 are particularly my favorites), and probably a few more things.**

 **It's like 8:40 in the morning, sue me.**

 **Anyways, if you notice any errors or typos then just send them my way either through PM or review. I'll try to be quick and fix them as they come up.**

 **Until next time.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Minor edits.**

 **A/N 3: Edits about continuity/canon errors.**

 **A/N 4: Todoroki and Shirou interaction scene edited. It didn't feel like Shirou and started to get to me the more I looked at the scene.**

 **A/N 5: Edited the scene above again.**

 **A/N 6: More minor edits. (Many Thanks to 'The One Who Reads Too Much' for pointing them out)**

 **A/N 7: Even more minor edits.**


	22. Chapter 21 - Festival of Swords

**Chapter 21**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

School had been canceled for the week, with both professional heroes and the staff of the academy taking the time to look over the school for any signs of damage and security leaks.

It was a precaution that was applied to every other student in each of the courses that U.A. gave out. There was apparently some complications when it came to the support course, where one of their students refused to leave the metallurgy workshop at all.

So for the few days that Shirou had free, he had been training.

" _This is a follow-up report on yesterday's incident at the U.A. rescue training facility where hero course students were attacked by villains,"_ The news anchor declared from the television outside of his room.

He didn't really want to dirty the living room with his sweat from training, so he turned the volume of their television as high as he could in order to listen.

He wasn't weak in any sense but he had been underprepared. He didn't expect to be facing Avenger again, not after that first encounter. Now that Shirou knew he was alive, he spent every possible waking hour training.

Simple maneuvers while tracing Avenger's Fang Grinders in order to get much more familiar with the villain's fighting style.

" _According to police investigations, the criminals call themselves the 'League of Villains' and have been plotting to kill All Might, who has been a teacher at U.A. since spring this year."_

Of course, he had cooked and cleaned to pass the time while Yu went out to fulfill her duties as a professional hero, but the more time he spent conditioning his body, strengthen it to a suitable level, the more effective he'd be when incidents occur again.

He knew that the USJ incident wasn't going to be the last they see of this 'League of Villains'. There might be several more incidents in the future moving forward and Shirou didn't want to be caught underprepared like last time.

Shirou let the Fang Grinders disperse back into prana, a drip of sweat falling past his brow to the puddle formed beneath him.

" _Police have arrested seventy-two villains but they still do not know the whereabouts of their ringleader."_

 _Seventy-two? It felt like there were more villains than that._

His muscles screamed at him to rest. A quick look at his own body told him that he needed definitely needed it, lest his muscles tore and strained to the point of requiring a quick hospital visit.

After all, time spent in the hospital could have been time spent doing something more productive.

As Shirou was about to take a quick shower to relax, the strange and yet familiar sound of their doorbell ringing caught his attention.

Shirou turned to the clock on the wall, noting that it was only half-past ten.

It was far too early for Yu to be back home yet, seeing as she always came back at around four in the afternoon, so Shirou quickly grew guarded. As far as he knew, Yu didn't place any orders for delivery so it couldn't be a package.

There was a chance that it was a door to door salesman, but considering the incident that happened just a few days ago, Shirou felt that it was right to be cautious.

Shirou turned off the television via remote and walked to the door, noting that the doorbell rang once more, a possible hint that whoever it was there was impatient.

A quick peek through a hole in the door sent some relief through the red-haired magus. Shirou unlocked the door and smiles in greeting.

"Good morning, Tsukauchi-san."

The detective tipped his hat.

"Good morning, Shirou-kun," He gazed into the room. "May I come in?"

Shirou nodded and led him inside. Tsukauchi quickly took a seat on the sofa, watching as the red-haired magus went into the kitchen.

"Would you like green tea?" Shirou asked, his voice echoing out of the kitchen.

"Yes, that would be appreciated."

A few moments later, Tsukauchi sipped from the cup, relishing in its taste.

"Ah… I missed this…" He muttered in relief. "You look tired. Haven't been getting enough sleep?"

Shirou shook his head. "I've been exercising. I was about to take a shower to relax."

"Sorry for disturbing you then," Tsukauchi remedied. "Should I have come at a later date?"

"No, it's fine," Once more, Shirou shook his head. "I know that you don't make pointless visits."

"Right, then I'll cut straight to the chase. The sooner we can finish, the sooner you can get to your bath," He set the cup down and shifted in his seat to reach his pocket. "Now then…"

He placed several photos on the living room table.

"Do you recognize any of these?"

They were several photos of both Gae Bolg and the Nomu.

Numerous emotions flooded through the red-haired magus. It was then that Shirou realized that he had forgotten about the Nomu after he killed it, it was then that he realized that he didn't feel a noticeable drain in his prana reserves…

… and it was then that Shirou swore he heard Rin's irritated words about his stupidity echo from who knows where.

"Judging from your reaction… I'd say you recognize them," Tsukauchi noted as he saw Shirou's fingers twitch. "I trust you understand that I have several questions here. I can't afford to leave without answers now."

Shirou only nodded in response.

He could play off Gae Bolg suddenly disappearing by saying his traced weaponry only lasted for so long. However, that led to the chance that Gae Bolg's curse would disappear as well, letting the Nomu regenerate back from being minced meat. That meant that the doctor performing autopsy near it would fall into danger.

Perhaps not, seeing as there was an image of the Nomu body being held tightly, strapped to a chair with several guards on duty outside the room.

"Onto the first question," Tsukauchi said as he interrupted Shirou's thoughts. "I noticed that once we extracted the red spear, one of our personnel managed to cut himself on accident. The small cut hasn't healed yet, despite a whole day passing by."

He shifted in his seat. "I understand that most aspiring students keep some abilities secret so that they have an advantage in the festival, but could we get an explanation as to what happened with this villain?"

 _Festival?_

He ignored that for now. What he needed to do right now was to focus on how to maneuver around the situation so that he wouldn't reveal the existence of his magecraft.

How could the ability to prevent regeneration be explained here…?

Such an explanation didn't exist, especially one that could be believed by a lie-detection quirk. Time was quickly passing and staying quiet for this long would draw suspicion.

"I… don't know," He found himself muttering.

 _Terrific, Shirou. Absolutely wonderful._

Tsukauchi raised a brow. "Really? Was this the first time it happened?"

Technically it was true, seeing as it was his first time tracing Gae Bolg and he didn't know how to subtly explain properly why the spear wasn't disappearing or _specifically_ causing a wound that wouldn't heal because that was magic and he didn't know how the explanations worked. So, he simply bobbed his head in the form of a nod.

The omission of truth isn't lying… right?

Then again, Tsukauchi had a lie-detection quirk so there was no way he'd accept an excuse like that too.

The inspector hummed in consideration. "Well… there have been cases of aspects of quirks being revealed late into life."

 _… It can't be–_

"Don't worry. All you need to do is practice with your quirk more so that you could find out eventually!"

 _That excuse worked!? That actually worked!?_

That was an acceptable response? What kind of world was this that the police can accept that sort of response!?

Shirou took a calming breath. He knew that Tsukauchi wasn't a pushover, so it could only mean that the answer was a common occurrence. As painful as it was to admit, the third-rate magus could see it too.

He could see situations where someone with a water quirk could be confused as to why someone got burnt when she used it, or how someone with a quirk to shrink suddenly grows.

This world of quirks… is surprisingly convenient to be in. Maybe keeping his magecraft secret here would be easier than he thought?

Then again, with Angra Mainyu still lurking around, it wasn't a likely prospect.

"Looks like I'll have to come by at a later date after all…" Tsukauchi muttered. "Call me when you learn why the weapon you created prevents regeneration later, okay?"

All Shirou did in response was give him a nod.

"It should take a month or two of training, probably, until you learn why," Tsukauchi commented. Soon he finished his cup of tea and stood with a frown on his face. "Well, I guess I'll have to inform the chief about this… he isn't going to like it."

Shirou actually felt a bit guilty that he was keeping the truth under lock and key. Maybe there was some way to help alleviate his disappointment?

"Be careful," Shirou advised as Tsukauchi was about to walk through the doorway. "Whatever I make doesn't last long, so that villain could regenerate after it disappears!"

The door opened.

"Thank you! I'll be sure to tell the chief!"

The door closed soon after.

It didn't take long before Shirou went to the bathroom for his long-awaited shower.

He'd let Gae Bolg disappear after his shower. It should give enough time for Tsukauchi to notify his superiors to keep the Nomu under lock and key, properly.

It was a mindless monster, so there was a chance that it wouldn't act until it was ordered to by the League of Villains. They thought that he had killed the monster anyway, so there was little chance that they'd notice and order it to rampage within the police compound.

They'd be fine. The police were called 'the police' for a reason.

Shirou let out a sigh as refreshing cold water doused his form.

Ah… He had forgotten to ask Tsukauchi about what he had meant by 'Festival'.

* * *

The days passed by as quick as they could.

Shirou had repeated his routine of housework and training. He could have technically left the apartment, now that he was free of the ankle tracker, but he found that exploring outside wasn't the best idea.

For one, he already knew where the basic necessities were and didn't see the purpose of traveling to an arcade-like Yu would usually suggest. Besides, he didn't want to risk being attacked once more in a much more public area.

Those days passed, and now Shirou sat in his desk at the back and simply contemplated on what he should be doing next.

Despite the amount of training he did behind Yu's back – she had constantly told him to rest – didn't really help much. His muscles were just a tad bit more flexible and sturdier, but it wasn't an improvement overall, not in his opinion.

He needed a better way to train, but Shirou was just a tad bit lost on where he'd find such a method.

At least Aizawa recovered enough to begin teaching again if what Yu told him was true.

In the middle of his thoughts, his classmates entered the classroom slowly and lethargically. Only when the class was close to half-full did the usual class banter start.

"Hey, did you watch the news last night?" The invisible mystery of nature said with increasing excitement.

Shirou heard a hum of agreement.

"Did you see how everyone in our class was on screen for a second?" She deflated afterward. "I didn't stand out at all…"

"That's true."

"It's hard to stand out, looking like that, right?"

 _True. Her hero costume was, in essence, just a pair of gloves…_

Shirou felt distinctly uncomfortable once he realized that she was absolutely naked during that entire crisis. Once again, he was reminded of how weird this world was.

"But man," Kaminari said, rubbing his eye just a bit. "All the channels made a big deal out of it, right?"

"I was surprised about that!" Kirishima jumped in.

"Can you blame them?" Jiro added. "The hero course that keeps pumping out heroes was attacked, after all."

From his seat, Shirou saw a Sero deflate. "We were lucky… If All Might and Mount Lady didn't arrive…"

Shirou saw Mineta distinctly shiver. "Just thinking about that… I was so close to dying!"

"Sorry," Shirou found himself muttering. "It's my fault. I suggested that you engage him."

Mineta turned to him in an instant. "It sure as hell is–!"

"SHUT UP! BE QUIET, SCUM!"

"Uwaaah!"

"But man, All Might was great!" Sato added as he ignored Mineta retreating behind him. "He pushed back all those villains and managed to get them to retreat!"

Tokoyami nodded. "Yes, his strength is worth wondering at…"

That was the official story.

Bakugo sent him a glance. They both knew how close the Symbol of Peace was to being beaten back. There was a strong chance that he would have won, but the surprise attack from Angra Mainyu's allies caught him off-guard.

Shirou didn't know what the teen was thinking, but it didn't seem to be an issue. The blonde teen turned away and growled something underneath his breath–

"Everyone! Morning homeroom is about to start! Stop talking and take your seats!"

Shirou blinked as their class representative, Iida Tenya, shouted as loud as he could.

A little smile took hold on the edge of his lips. It was good that Iida seemed to have gotten over the events of last week. Not completely though, Shirou could still see the occasional twitch towards the door from each of his classmates.

Despite Shirou's pleasure at Iida's vigor, his vocal decree was made irrelevant due to the fact that everyone already was in their seats. They hadn't really ever left their seats at all, much like what most other high school students would do.

"We're already in our seats."

"You're the only one who's not."

"S-Shoot…"

Uraraka chuckled to herself. "Don't mind."

"Tsuyu-chan, who's–" Ashido asked as she leaned back on her chair. It stumbled a bit which halted her sentence, but Asui Tsuyu managed to catch it before it fell over. "–gonna teach homeroom today?"

Shirou truly was glad, that some form of normalcy had descended upon them all.

"Well…" Asui muttered. "Aizawa-sensei is supposed to be in the hospital recovering from his injuries…"

Just when Shirou was about to inform them that Aizawa was alright, the classroom door opened, showing that he wouldn't need to say it.

Aizawa was already standing there in his usual clothing… except that he was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, alongside two casts for each arm.

"So you're alright, Aizawa-sensei!?" Iida cried out with his hand raised.

Behind him, Uraraka shuddered, "… Can you really call that 'alright'?"

"My well-being is doesn't matter right now," Aizawa said from the podium. "I've recovered enough to teach, so that's what I'm going to do… More importantly, the fight's not yet over."

… _What?_

Already? So soon?

Shirou narrowed his eyes and gripped his fist, clenching them periodically as he mentally prepared. He was going to make sure that nobody would get hurt this time…

"Fight?"

"Don't tell me…"

"T-The v-villains again…?"

Aizawa lowered his head, two slits that revealed his focused and narrowed eyes.

"… The U.A. sports festival is drawing near."

All at once, the tense atmosphere faded.

 _What?_

""A sports festival?""

Kirishima jolted from his seat in joy. Most likely relief at the coming activity. "That's a super-normal school event–"

Suddenly, a hand from Kaminari shoved him back down. "Wait, just wait a minute."

"Is it okay, to have a sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Jiro asked, voicing out everyone's thoughts out loud.

"What if they attack us again or something?" Ojiro added on.

A sports festival… True, such an event would probably bring much welcome relief to the students, but there was the fact that it was a risky idea that it shouldn't be done.

Angra Mainyu was still ready to fight again. Shirou was almost sure that he wouldn't care about fighting in the middle of a large public event like that.

"Apparently," Aizawa closed his eyes as he started. Whether it be from consideration or pain, Shirou didn't know. "They think of it as U.A. showing that our crisis management system is rock solid by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years…"

The professional hero's eyes once more opened.

"Above all, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not an event to be canceled because of a few villains."

"… but that's a good reason, isn't it?" Mineta muttered from his seat. "It's just a festival for sports."

For once, Shirou agreed with the short teen.

Fun and interactive recreational activities were definitely good for the mind's wellbeing, but these teens needed training far more than they needed relaxation. Shirou himself wasn't excluded from that fact.

"Eh?" Midoriya muttered from in front of them. "Mineta, you've never seen the U.A. sports festival?"

"Of course I have, but that's not what I meant man!"

Shirou blinked.

That was interesting. Was the U.A. sports festival different to the regular sports festivals? If it was, then how so?

"Our sports festival is one of the biggest events in Japan," Aizawa said, unknowingly answering Shirou's thoughts. "In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports and the whole country was crazy about them. As you know with reductions in scale and population, they're now a shell of their former glory…"

No, Shirou didn't really know that. There weren't any articles he read about the event… but it definitely made sense. When there existed people who have quirks of super speed, super strength, or other much more exciting superhuman abilities, the idea of seeing the Olympics with regular people wasn't as attractive as it was before.

After all, what were people in comparison to the ones with quirks? Even Shirou wasn't blind enough to think that they remained completely equal.

For some reason, that thought irritated him.

"… And now, for Japan, what has taken place of those Olympics is the U.A. sports festival!"

"Of course, all the top heroes around the country will be watching," Yaoyorozu added from directly in front of Shirou. "For scouting purposes, that is!"

"For the love of- I already know that!" Mineta whined.

Well, Shirou certainly didn't. Although, why would they need to scout students?

"After we graduate, it's typical to join a pro agency as a sidekick!" Kaminari added.

"A lot of people miss their chance to become independent after that and become eternal sidekicks, though," Jiro muttered. "Kaminari, I feel like you'll be one of them. Since you're dumb."

… So, it was basically a great way to get a head start for their career? Not that Shirou needed something like that.

He wouldn't need to join an agency or start his own. He was going to just save people… and do a lot of paperwork, if what Yu's complaints were every night were accurate.

… Seriously though, why were his questions being answered randomly? You need to ask for a question to be answered, right?

"Of course, joining a famous hero agency will get you more experience and popularity," Aizawa added, this time after hearing what Kaminari said. "Time is limited. If you expect to go pro, then the path to your future will open up at this event. One chance a year, a total of three chances. No aspiring heroes can afford to miss this event… If you understand that, then don't slack on your preparations!"

"Yes, sir!"

Aizawa sighed. "Well then, homeroom is dismissed."

As the students excitedly chattered with one another, Shirou sighed.

The more he learned of the event, the less he cared about it.

Why would he need to gain popularity? Experience is one thing, but something as superficial popularity wouldn't help him save any lives. If he wanted to experience, then he'd just be more proactive in finding villains, seeing as this society churned them out faster than he could count.

If it was about payment, Shirou wouldn't need any. He could already budget well enough to last with minimum wage every day. If he was going to be an unpopular and not so well-known hero, then that was fine. Following Aizawa's work ethic and saving lives without a care for public attention, that sounded much more sensible.

With high exposure, the more your enemies will know of your tactics and counter appropriately. With that in mind, the main priority was the experience, enough so that he could save more lives.

… After all, that was why he was here, to live out his childhood dream of becoming a hero.

"Ah… I almost forgot," Aizawa muttered. "Bakugo and Emiya. Once classes are over, head over to the faculty. I have something for the two of you."

Shirou blinked in confusion. Before he could ask what Aizawa meant, their homeroom teacher had already left the room.

He felt his eye twitch in mild irritation as Bakugo sent him a glare.

 _Damn it Aizawa._

* * *

The atmosphere at lunch break was… different.

Everyone was excited for the upcoming sports festival, judging from the smiles and numerous banners being painted along the hallway, but Shirou seemed to be thinking back on Aizawa's words.

It wasn't like him to leave with such vague words, not like him at all. However, the rest of the students moved on rather quickly and excitedly chatted among one another.

Shirou didn't really see the purpose in doing that, so he had decided to head over to the cafeteria in order to learn if Lunch Rush had added any new recipes to the table.

Recipes that he would study extensively for ways to improve, of course.

He had settled for the newly added spaghetti dish. It had a varying amount of spices on top of it, which Shirou could tell from merely looking that it would be a feast for his taste buds.

Soon, he came across the table where a few of his classmates sat. Kirishima scooted to the side as he greeted him and allowed Shirou to take a seat. In front of him was Kaminari, who seemed to be in the middle of a heavy debate with Jiro.

"I'm telling you, this katsudon tastes much better than your curry!"

"Curry is a dish with loads of taste and variety, much more so than your katsudon!"

In the midst of their escalating argument, Sato sat peacefully on the other side the table talking avidly with Kouda, who seemed content in simply listening to the buff classmate.

"That brown paste is always spicy and sludgy!"

"That bowl of turd looks like a kids meal!"

"Guys, guys, guys. You don't need to argue over what's the best lunch." Kirishima interjected as he took the much-needed role of the peace third party to end the war… before bringing out a slab of beef. "–Because this steak is ten times better than any of yours!"

Never mind, the aforementioned third party just wanted to join the war.

"What did you say!?"

"Take that back you spiked pansy!"

Shirou only sighed as the three of them continued to argue in earnest. He didn't find anything wrong with it though. They were having fun, one could tell from the way they smiled as they argued.

"Well, isn't this interesting," A familiar voice interrupted. A single glance was all it took to realize that it was Kendou Itsuka. "Sorry to interrupt, but can we sit here? All the other seats are full… again."

"Tch… We wouldn't be here if there any open seats."

It was easy to tell that this voice belonged to Monoma.

"Just bear with it, Monoma," Shinso's ever-reliable voice berated. "Besides, we're all heroes-in-training here. No need to argue."

Monoma raised a brow and gazed at Shirou's three classmates… one of which was trying to shove curry down a blonde's throat.

"Well then, tell that to them."

"H-Hey, guys?" Sato muttered, finally noticing the ensuing chaos beside him. "Can you argue just a little quieter? You're disturbing everyone else."

It was then that the trio finally realized that several students from surrounding tables were sending glares to the formerly arguing students.

"""Ah."""

Shirou sighed. "Just sit down."

The three of them awkwardly took a seat as the Class-B roster of Shinso, Monoma, Kendou, and Kodai followed suit.

"So…" Kendou started with slight hesitance. "How are you guys doing? You know, after last week?"

"Last week…?" Kaminari muttered as he tried to recall what she was referring to. It didn't take long before he realized what. "Yeah, we're all fine. No use worrying over it."

"That's great!" Kendou said relieved. "I was worried you guys wouldn't be able to participate in the sports festival."

"Kendou," Monoma grumbled from his seat. "Even if they weren't okay, they'd at least have two weeks to get over it. You're worrying over nothing."

Kodai nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of sports festival…" Jiro muttered. "What about you guys? You excited for it?"

Kodai shrugged as Kendou nodded. "Of course we are! This is a chance to show what we're capable of, after all!"

"You got that right," Jiro agreed.

"I hope I do well," Kaminari added. "I don't want to be a side-kick forever!"

Kirishima let out a hearty laugh. "Don't worry! I'm sure we're all going to do fine!"

Monoma smirked. "Only children get excited over things like that."

"You were screaming in excitement too, Monoma."

"Be quiet, Shinso!"

"That's what you get for trying to act cool," Kaminari jeered.

"Shut up! Class A!"

"Monoma…" Kendou sighed in exasperation. "Well, I guess it's fine. As long as that incident doesn't hinder you guy at all, then I'm sure the pros will notice us."

"It's fine," Kaminari interjected with a relaxed flick of his wrist. "All Might and Mount Lady got us out of there…" Suddenly his brow creased. "Speaking of which… Emiya?"

"What is it, Kaminari-san?"

"Your mother is Mount Lady, right?" Kaminari asked as he didn't notice the widening eyes from a few of Class-B. "What's it like living with her?"

"Wait, Emiya is Mount Lady's rumored kid?" Kendou muttered.

"Yeah, he is," Jiro confirmed. "We saw her say it herself! 'He's my son, why?' –just like that!"

"Yeah, that was pretty surreal," Sato added with his arms crossed. "She didn't even need to worry. Emiya was the one babysitting us back up there after Thirteen was downed."

Shirou felt his brow twitch. "I wouldn't say 'babysitting'…"

"Dude, you totally were babysitting us," Sato argued. "If you weren't there, then we would have totally gotten our asses handed to us. I couldn't even keep track of that Beast guy."

"Beast…?" Shinso suddenly spoke up. He sent a glance to Shirou. "Are you talking about…"

Shirou sighed as he nodded.

Shinso narrowed his eyes. "I see…"

Monoma looked to his friend with a hint of confusion. He didn't say anything and kept silent, but from the look in his eyes, he was going to talk to the mind-controlling quirk user later.

"Wait a minute…" Kaminari muttered. "You didn't answer my question, Emiya! What's it like living with a hot babe like that!?"

Jiro smacked the back of his head. "Somehow your question changed significantly, didn't it!?"

"Come on!" Kaminari whined. "Sato, Kouda! Aren't you envious of this lucky bastard too!?"

"Not really…" Sato mumbled. "I mean, Mount Lady is just his mother, not his girlfriend or something like that."

"You don't get it, do you!?" Kaminari continued. "Being served her home-cooking, getting tucked in at night, randomly opening her shower door–"

Shirou's eye twitched.

"Choose your next words carefully, Kaminari-san."

Kaminari admittedly winced and quickly looked around the table for allies. He found that most of the boys were looking away or staring at him in pity, and the entirety of the girls just stared at him in disgust.

"Kirishima! You understand, right?"

Kirishima blinked. "Huh? Oh yeah… yeah."

Shirou blinked.

 _That was odd…_

Was he not listening to the conversation? Kirishima didn't strike him as the type to do that.

"Kirishima," Sato tested. "You know what you agreed to, right?"

"Uh…" Kirishima muttered. "No, I don't. Sorry guys, I was distracted."

 _Truly odd…_

Now that Kaminari was left without allies, the girls started to lay into him with insults and words of disgust, not that the electric-user really showed hurt from them, merely taking them in stride.

Now that the entire table was focused on him, Shirou allowed his thoughts to roam… specifically to the students down below in the main area of the cafeteria.

What if the League of Villains had attacked some other class instead of theirs? What if they attacked the support or general course class while All Might was teaching?

In a way, they were lucky that the villains had decided to attack them, otherwise, there would have been a larger ruckus from the media.

He didn't see the need to think about the sports festival as the other students were. There was the more practical worry of the League of Villains to tackle first.

Training to fight them… how was he going to handle it?

Admittedly, he did have the majority of his circuits unlocked. The world around him seemed to double his prana output so prana wasn't much of an issue… yet he seemed to run out of it from time to time.

Maybe he needed to experiment with how his circuits interacted with the world a little more? He wasn't even sure if Gaia or Alaya existed in this world at all.

"Emiya."

Shirou blinked and turned to Kodai, who had taken a seat beside him. "What is it, Kodai-san?"

"You have that look again," Kodai said pointing to her own eyebrows. "Don't think about it. Relax."

Shirou gave her a short stare and sighed. He returned to his lunch and hurried to eat it before it got cold.

Despite the reassurance, Shirou couldn't stop wondering about it all.

Not even a bit.

* * *

Shirou packed his bag and prepared to go home. He paid attention in class like everyone else, but when it was clear that he already knew what was being taught, he opened up the student handbook to learn more about the U.A. festival.

Quirks were free to use in the tournament, as expected of U.A. The students from all of the courses come together and fight through preliminary games of different types by class year.

In other words, a huge tournament with three rounds. Only the final round remained the same, with it being a fighting tournament for the students to partake in.

It was divided by grade, so students would only be able to fight those of their peers, which meant no unfair advantages from experience.

Shirou knew that Todoroki had seen him not really pay attention to class, but didn't really call him out on it. In fact, he turned away abruptly with a frown when Shirou met his gaze.

 _Odd… was there something wrong with looking into the student handbook?_

Yaoyorozu certainly commented on the fact that he had been reading it during class, but her complaints faded when he answered her following impromptu quiz with acceptable results.

Class ended, seemingly as abrupt as it started with a ring of the bell. Shirou started to pack away his things and prepared to leave.

"Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu called from in front of him, also packing her things. "Apologies but I think we should cancel the training appointments."

Shirou blinked as he zipped his bag shut.

"Might I ask why?" He asked.

She nervously scratched her side. "It's a matter of pride. It would be just a little bit degrading if another competitor was training me. Besides, training me would cut into your own time to train, wouldn't it?"

Shirou could see the logic in her words and gave a nod in agreement.

Truth be told, he wouldn't mind continuing to train her in the coming weeks, but he did need to train himself for his next encounter with Avenger and the League of Villains.

After all, second encounters are always the most troublesome to deal with. If he didn't get any stronger before their next battle – or find a way to bypass Avenger's modified abilities and newly added quirk – then he would surely lose.

And all that was while ignoring the chance that Avenger could appear again with newer quirks.

Just before Shirou could stand from his chair and leave, the doors burst open and several recognizable students flooded in.

All twenty-one of them.

 _Class-B?_

Kendou smiled. "Are we interrupting?"

"Class-B?" Iida muttered from his seat, Midoriya, and Uraraka standing beside him. "Fellow representative, might I ask as to why you are all here?"

"Well… you see, we heard what happened to you guys last week," She explained. "So we were just coming to check you guys out, to see if you were all okay."

"They're fine," Monoma muttered with a hint of snark from beside her. "Just look at them. None of them look as fussed about as we are about them."

"Hear us out, Class-A!" A muscled boy with silver hair, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, spoke from ahead of the crowd. "We aren't going to lose to you guys at the sports festival, you hear me!?"

"In a friendly way," Kendou pushed. "Right? We all trained together, we're all hero course students, so there shouldn't be any hard feelings for when the time comes, right?"

Someone scoffed as he made his way to the front. "Hard feelings? If you're weak enough to feel something like that, then you shouldn't be in this course."

Bakugo Katsuki walked up to the entire crowd. "You're blocking my way. Move."

"Bakugo!" Iida called. "They are declaring friendly competition! There is no need to antagonize them!"

"Shut up four-eyes," Bakugo shot back. "There's no need to get friendly with them. They know what happened last week. This isn't about being buddy-buddy with us, they just want to check us out before the sports festival starts."

"You're just as aggressive as you were during the indoor training, weren't you?" Monoma spoke, stepping out of the crowd to face him. "What? Are you feeling threatened? Don't get carried away, we'll sweep your feet right out from under you."

Bakugo scoffed. "If you can do something like that then go ahead and try, copying little shit."

"Hey now!" Kendou called as she dragged Monoma back. "This isn't what we're here to do!"

"Then move," Bakugo said once more. "I can't crush all of you here. Once the sports festival starts, I'll wipe the floor with all of you!"

Iida sighed. "My apologies. Bakugo does not speak for all of us."

"We know that, so don't worry about it," Kendou replied.

Bakugo scoffed once more before finding a way out of the class. "None of this will matter once you rise to the top."

He walked away, his glare seemingly parting the sea of students before him.

"... Once I reach the top, nothing will get in my way."

Shirou frowned as Bakugo disappeared, most likely to the faculty where he was called.

"Well…" Monoma muttered, a short yet sly smirk working its way onto his visage. "He got one thing in that barking show he gave us. It doesn't matter once you reach the top?"

Kirishima let out manly tears. "So simple and manly!"

Kaminari blinked. "Huh?"

Tetsutetsu growled as he smacked his head. "Damn it! Why am I agreeing with that bastard!?"

Sato nodded in contemplation. "He's got a point…"

"Huh!?"

"The top…?" Tokoyami muttered. "There is some truth in that."

Some mumbles from across the class spread out, most of them agreeing with the sentiment. Not the way it was said, but the intent behind the words.

Shirou made his way out of the class as they were all busy contemplating.

"Going home?" Kodai asked, seemingly appearing behind him. She must have been near the back of the Class-B crowd.

"Aizawa called me and Bakugo earlier, we shouldn't be making him wait," Shirou answered.

After the nod she gave him, Shirou made his way to the faculty room.

* * *

Idly, Shirou wondered what Aizawa had called the two of them for.

There was a chance that it related to All Might's near-defeat a few days prior. It would make sense if they wanted the two students that witnessed the whole debacle to stay quiet, lest they risk society gaining a few cracks to their perception of the Symbol of Peace.

However, if that were the case, then they would have called them earlier… so was this a more academic matter? The only relation that Bakugo and Shirou shared in terms of academics was the fact that they shared the same score for their entrance exam.

The faculty door slid open as Shirou stepped inside. He found Bakugo with a frown standing beside Aizawa's work desk. He sent him a glare and growled. "That took you long enough, sword-bastard!"

Shirou simply sighed. "My apologies, Bakugo-san."

No use in arguing with him here, not after he unintentionally got both the hero course classes thinking about his words.

"If you two can be quiet, I'll let you go home," Aizawa scolded from behind the numerous bandages wrapped around his face. "How long this will take depends on the two of you. Shut up, listen, and then decide among yourselves."

"I'm sure that you're aware that the U.A. sports festival is something that the entire country looks forward to…" Aizawa started. "… And with such a prestigious event, comes a long tradition. The sports festival requires the highest scoring first-year student in the entrance exam to give out a speech before the event starts."

He held out a paper before him.

"Usually, we don't inform the students before we make them give out a speech, something about honesty in the impromptu or whatever…" Aizawa slowly trailed off into a mutter. "… However, since there are currently two students who have scored a tie for the top spot this year, there has been a compromise made."

Shirou ignored the growl that Bakugo gave out at being reminded of their similar scores, no doubt being painful to the prideful boy.

"You see, the many of the faculty and the principal himself think that it would be unfair for either of you to lose this opportunity," Aizawa added. "So, in light of this previous development, the school has decided that the two of you may craft a speech of your own and present it at the start of the sports festival."

He leaned back into his chair. "You don't have limits in what you want to say…" He narrowed his eyes on Bakugo in particular. "… Just know that if you write out something juvenile or asinine, it'll be your own future as a professional hero at risk, not ours."

In response to Aizawa's words, Bakugo's competitive and prideful nature drove him to make a competition between them where competition didn't need to exist at all.

This meant that the blond didn't catch the hint or message and simply smirked as he sent a small glance towards his sword-wielding classmate. "No problem here, Aizawa-sensei. I'll give them a speech that they won't forget!"

Shirou sighed.

Frankly speaking, standing on a stage and speaking directly to a crowd in a public event – which was viewed by people around the country – wasn't something Shirou had ever pictured himself doing.

However more importantly, on a purely practical standpoint, spending precious time making a speech for such an event would inevitably end up cutting into any possible time he could manage to find for his training.

"Aizawa, can I ask a question?"

"Ignoring the redundancy of that question," Aizawa mused. "Yes, you may."

Shirou nodded and asked his question.

"If it's possible, can I let Bakugo-san handle the speech?"

After a stark few seconds of silence, Aizawa gave him a slightly bewildered stare – his brow showing signs that it raised from the way that the bandages ruffled.

It was a stark contrast to the reaction that his classmate had, which was quite odd itself. His face wore a stunned and wide-eyed gawk of absolute disbelief. His mouth spread open slightly as his neck craned to clearly look at him, unlike the smirk and glares he had been sending before.

Sensing the need to elaborate, Shirou obliged.

"I'd rather not give a speech at all. Frankly, I find that focusing on training would be a much better use of my time." Shirou expounded.

Aizawa regarded him for a few seconds, the brow still raised.

"… Brat, are you certain of that decision? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Aizawa reminded. "This isn't just a mere speech to give out for the sports festival. Once you move into your second year, you won't be able to receive this chance again. The school is being lenient in allowing the two of you to give your own speeches."

By 'chance', Aizawa had probably meant the possible publicity that being a speaker in the event would entail.

From U.A's apparent tradition of sending their top students out on stage, it would mean Hero Agencies around the country would focus on him, giving the student a boost to jump-start their hero career.

However, he wouldn't need it. A reputation wasn't necessary in his eyes, only serving as a way to draw a target on your back for villains to plot against, like with what happened in USJ with All Might.

With this in mind, Shirou nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, I should have expected that. I'll have to contact the principal, but at least you had the gal to let us know early, we can reorganize a few time slots for the sports festival now…" Aizawa sighed audibly, a hint of frustration and exasperation coming from him. "… Bakugo, I trust you'll make an impactful speech. With this in mind, you're both free to go. Be careful on the way home."

Shirou bowed in respect and made his way out, being followed by Bakugo soon after.

It was only after they had walked away from the faculty and a few seconds of silence when Bakugo spoke… or rather, growled.

"Oi, sword-bastard… What the hell was that!?"

Confused, Shirou turned to Bakugo, who had decided to walk beside him at a considerable distance. "I don't think I understand, Bakugo-san-"

"You know exactly what I fucking mean!" He growled, his glare increasing in intensity. "Do you think this is a joke!? Are you trying to funny, you bastard!?"

"… I don't think of it as a joke," Shirou attempted to placate. "I just didn't see the purpose in it. I find that training-"

"'-Is more important'– I know that, fuck-face!" Bakugo interrupted, turning on his heel to face him directly. "You fucking disgust me!"

Shirou admittedly winced at the venom dripping from his tone, his own internal confusion at the situation increasing in response.

Just what did he do to offend his classmate to this degree?

"Then I apologize, Bakugo-san. I guess I should have given the idea of a speech a try at the very least."

His attempt at apologizing didn't help one bit. Bakugo gritted his own teeth and growled in frustration.

"You don't even fucking know…" He muttered, tension rising in his growl. "… Then there's no damn point in talking!"

He turned away and sped up his footsteps and made his way out of U.A… all while the sword-magus stared at his retreated back. His own confusion hadn't even faded yet, not even after he gave as much thought as he could.

Was his classmate disappointed in him? Even it were so, then it shouldn't have garnered such a reaction. Shirou had basically handed him the publicity that an aspiring professional hero should be wanting.

Perhaps he was insulted? Being insulted at an act of charity was admittedly common among certain parts of humanity, but Shirou felt that it shouldn't even have garnered such an intense reaction as that.

Shirou sighed.

Several minutes had passed before he forced that little encounter to the back of his mind. There was no need to focus on the words of his prideful classmate, not that he understood it anyway…

He idly kept the images of Tawrich and Zarich in mind.

… Shirou still needed to train, after all.

Maybe once the sports festival rolled in, Shirou would know what he did to offend his classmate.

He hoped.

* * *

Two weeks until the U.A. sports festival would start, and Shirou found that he didn't care about it at all.

When he let that piece of information slip to his adoptive mother, she literally became lost for words… which lasted for all but three seconds until she hounded him every waking hour of her relaxation days in order to make sure he would give his utmost best during the tournament.

His best would be using his reality marble, but he wasn't an idiot so he wouldn't do that.

Shirou said he'd at least give it a try, but he wasn't looking forward to it.

To him, it was like any other sports festival, but to all his classmates who were training their quirks and body to the limit, it was their gateway to a better future.

Shirou was more than happy to help them do so. However, if they knew he was forcibly making himself do worse, then all that would accomplish would be obtaining the anger from his entire class.

He'd give his best, but Noble Phantasms and magecraft were banned.

So basically, the usual way he'd been keeping his magecraft secret then.

Shirou scrubbed the kitchen, making sure that no speck of dirt would exist within the sanctuary of the culinary arts. Yu was going to be going home late today, so that meant Shirou had more time to spend training…

… Fruitless training. He wasn't getting as strong as he had hoped.

How was he supposed to fight Angra Mainyu and the League of Villains if he was stuck repeated an overused training strategy?

He didn't know, so he asked his classmates via text about how he should try training. The idea wasn't a good one, but it was an idea he hadn't tried.

As expected, the idea had been a waste of time for all parties involved, seeing as most of them told him to just try improving sword stances or other second-hand knowledge of sword fighting that he already knew.

Shirou let out a sigh… Maybe he should cut back and think about how to train later? For now, he decided to get started on dinner.

Cooking relaxed him physically, mentally, and spiritually. He needed the relief after the recent confusion and stress from today.

Since Yu was going to be home late, he could spend much longer on actually making an acceptable dish.

Since she would likely be tired, she wouldn't want to eat much and get to bed as soon as possible Something light to eat yet heavy to digest would be ideal.

Some soba perhaps? He had prepared a quarter of a kilogram of dough yesterday in the fridge, just in case he would need it, so that was an idea.

He didn't know how soba would interact with the amount of butter he had in that dough, but he hadn't experimented in a while, so it should be a worthwhile venture.

The dough was only around thirty-percent buckwheat flour, and the rest being gluten-filled flour with a large amount of butter. It hasn't even been rolled like regular soba would have…

 _Well, Rin was always a fan of experiments._

Shirou covered a flat surface on the kitchen top, almost at his arm's length through eyeball measurements alone, and covered it generously in flour.

He placed the dough on top of the flour, admittedly just a tad bit sticker than normal soba because of the amount of butter within it, and got to work rolling it out.

… Even as Shirou strained his limbs to stretch the dough out with a rather large rolling pin, he could not forget the restless feeling within him.

Cooking took his mind into a preferable relaxed state, but he still needed to figure out how to train better.

Shirou reinforced his limbs ever so slightly with his magecraft.

There had to be a great way to train for his next encounter with Avenger… maybe Aizawa could point him in the right direction? He could masquerade it as training for the tournament if the teacher asked, no doubt willing to deny his request if he knew what it was really for.

Once the soba dough was shaped almost like a square, as flat as it could be, and at the perfect height of soba, he added flour on it again and folded so it fit on his chopping board.

The surplus of flour prevented the dough from sticking to itself again, so as Shirou placed it atop the board, he grabbed the soba board – and was surprised yet again to see that Yu had the tool in her own kitchen – alongside a soba-kiri knife – which looked like a thin yet sturdy sheet of metal with a handle embedded at a single lower corner– and went to work cutting the dough into slim strings fit for consumption.

It was somewhat nostalgic. He remembered making something like this for Fuji-nee on her birthday. Sakura had helped too with stretching out the dough…

Shirou ensured that the cutting was measured. Every time he sliced through the dough, he moved the soba-board beside it just a bit away from it. Whenever he brought up the soba-kiri knife, he aligned it with the new location of the soba board, repeating the process.

Thinking about Fuyuki – his previous home – was bittersweet. He would always miss the people he had met there, the friends he had made, and the family he had grown to care for…

He stopped his rhythmic cutting when he still had over half of the dough left uncut and used the side of the huge knife to carry the cut soba away into a container. He then continued his cutting.

… Shirou would not deny the fact that he truly missed Rin. The girl that had stolen his heart.

And the only thing he had to remember her by was that asshole of a servant–

Shirou's cutting ceased, the soba-kiri knife held above the small amount of dough remaining as realization struck.

 _There was an idea._

His eye twitched.

… _It was definitely an idea…_

* * *

 **A/N: Here's a chapter, it came out late, I feel bad.**

 **I managed to push myself last time to post Bladed Horizon in the same month as this story, but the more I attempted to do that, the more it started to become a strain on my college endeavors. I had to consciously think about the next chapter while keeping up with my studies, which is pretty bad and created a few motivational problems for me on both fronts.**

 **So here I announce, that these chapters will now come out bi-monthly. This means that every odd-numbered month is a post for My Ideal Academia and every even-numbered month is a post for Bladed Horizon.**

 **Yeah, I know it's annoying that you have to wait another month and for that, I apologize, but I do need to keep up with my studies. Just writing this out to inform you all is a load off my back.**

 **Don't worry though, I'll try to make the future chapters longer and at a higher quality. I hope you all understand.**

 **Now to head back and fix some typos you guys found.**

 **Until next time.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Omission of truth isn't lying. There are people who can beat lying machines with this trick. I made it pure luck that Shirou managed to decieve him and had clear ways that every word that Shirou said during their encounter could be construed as 'truth'.**


	23. Chapter 22 - The Sword and The Knife

**Chapter 22**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

 _ **A/N to very 'special' guest reviewers:**_

" _I have a better suggestion… update this weekly...scrap blade horizon n focus less on studies...u wanna become a scholar or wat?"_

" _...So you are making people wait an extra month for the next chapter on your much more successful story? Smart. Real Smart._ _"_

 **Start off, ignore the first guest review. This guy gives bad life blood-boiling advice. Unlike** _ **some people**_ **, I actually want to graduate and not waste the tuition that my beloved parents saved for. I'm fortunate to be in the college I'm in as it is.**

 **That, and I believe it's irresponsible to just stop something I started. It speaks about low commitment and lack of effort in life in general. Just be glad that I even have** _ **time**_ **to write at all.**

 **Forgive me if I** _ **prioritized**_ **the idea of responsibility and not wanting to waste my parents hard earned money.**

* * *

Yu slumped over in her seat, watching as officials in business suits shook hands with each other, packing up their briefcases with a few documents, or leaving the room she was in outright.

"Uwa… I'm tired."

She had just finished a meeting with U.A's board of directors, a cautious yet careless bunch when it came to their budget. Kind of understandable, seeing the expenses that went into the school itself.

Now, you might be wondering why she would be in a stuffy board room meeting with a whole bunch of old guys, but the reason was simpler than you'd think.

After the whole incident at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, the budget allocation for the upcoming sports festival was almost doubled completely. Pro Heroes would literally fill up the venue in case of villain attacks, but that's disregarding the hundreds of heroes that were already going to attend the event as audience members.

Yu wouldn't be surprised if over half of the professional heroes in the city were going to be attending. Even in her tired state, Yu snickered at the thought of any villains attacking such a high profile venue.

To her right was Aizawa, who was wrapped from head to toe in bandages. He looked like some sort of petrified mummy. It was only from the fact that the guy was diligently looking through several papers, at the time, that she managed to recognize him.

He wouldn't be a part of the security detail due to his injuries, as much as that irritated him. Who knows? Maybe he'd find something else to do.

Beside him was a rather deathly skinny man with a messy bundle of bright blond hair on him. Yu didn't really recognize him at all, but he seemed to be helping Aizawa out with the documents. They were probably friends... however few of them that the anti-social professional hero has.

And then there was Shinji, or Kamui Woods, who was going to be apart of the security detail patrolling the outskirts of the sports festival. His quirk was great for restraining so he'd be able to stop incidents before they even started!

… _Hopefully._

Unfortunately, even with his impressive reputation, his status as a newbie required him to also have a partner with him.

Yu was going to be apart of the security, ignoring her constant protests at the idea. She wanted to be in the audience cheering Shirou on, damn it! Not wandering a venue that was never going to be attacked!

Seriously, if there was even a slight hint of bloody trouble in the water, the hundreds of gathered pro heroes would be on it like a school of wild piranha.

Oh well, at least she wasn't guarding the lower levels without any big screens of the event. She was thankful that her mother birthed her with such a wonderful quirk. Truly, she was.

 _Maybe I should call her some time?_

"Oi, Yu, you still awake?"

A familiar voice entered her notice.

"Yeah 'bami-chan, I'm up," Yu muttered loud enough for her friend to hear. "I couldn't sleep last night."

Uwabami instantly smirked.

"Oh really? Finally decided to get yourself a man?"

Yu's brow twitched.

"No, I didn't," Yu uncharacteristically answered in a stoic tone. "Besides, you know how men work. They just want to get in our pants and call it a day. I'm not into one-night stands."

Uwabami, despite her little smirk, nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, that's true~" She agreed with a sigh. "Fame and fortune make it almost impossible to get a good man. Only ass hats have enough courage to walk up to us."

"Is that courage or stupidity?"

"Both?"

The two women madly giggled at the notion. Already Yu could feel some inkling of stress that she had on her fade away.

Once Uwabami finally calmed down from her hysterical giggling, she let out a sigh to regain her breath.

"Anyway, I heard of this cafe that opened up a while ago but I hadn't had the chance to go there. Do you want to come with me? You don't have any plans today, right?"

 _Eh?_

"How did you–?"

"Your secretary told me," She replied instantly, already anticipating the question from the hero. "That horned secretary of yours seemed pretty excited at the idea of you leaving your office."

Yu furrowed her brow in confusion. "… That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't my secretary want me to do my job?"

Heck, the guy she hired had always nagged her about doing them early, so why now? Those incident reports weren't going to write themselves! She still had five left to write up before the end of the week!

"Something about insurance, I think. Anyway. Come on Yu, at this rate you're practically married to your job," Uwabami whined. "Although, I guess it's better than what you were doing before."

And by before, Uwabami had meant about how Yu would laze about for days on end and write barely passable reports the night before the deadlines. High school habits didn't really fade that much with the years.

Although… that all did change when she adopted Shirou. She wasn't providing for just herself anymore, but for the welfare of a kid too. If she slacked off now, then it wouldn't just be her that paid the price.

At least doing them early left her with a whole lot more free time, which made it all the more confusing that her secretary wanted her to take a break.

Speaking of Shirou… Yu slowly gained a frown as she recalled the young man's recent behavior. He had been coming home late, barely making it home in time to make dinner. Which was odd, seeing as U.A. was practically a hop and skip away from their home.

Whenever Yu would ask, he would always answer that there were group projects he had been working on… but Yu could still feel that nagging feeling that he was hiding something.

 _What if he fell into the wrong kind of crowd!? Do those kinds of crowds even exist in U.A!? Gah, I just don't know!_

"Still not convinced?" Uwabami muttered, mistaking her worried frown for something else entirely. "Fine. Hey, Kamui Woods! Aizawa! Can you help me drag this workaholic along? We're going to a cafe!"

"Wha–"

"I supposed I could go for a cup of coffee," Kamui Woods agreed, a mischievous and slightly vindictive smirk hidden under his wooden mask.

"I don't have time for that," Aizawa bluntly stated as usual. "I still have–"

"Nothing to do for the rest of the day," The skinny man interrupted. "Recovery Girl told me to make sure you get some rest and relaxation. I know you like working yourself to the ground, but you _need_ a break."

Aizawa's brow twitched.

"I've already taken a break yesterday. I'm fine."

"A lunch break where you grade papers isn't a break," He argued. "Just a cup of coffee should be fine. You can continue what little work you have left tomorrow."

Yu spared a glance at the multitude of documents Aizawa had before him, almost all of which was already marked and or checked for mistakes. There seemed to be quiz papers too that had already been checked.

The guy really didn't have any documents left to check.

Then again, this was Aizawa. The guy who did everything as soon as he could and sleep the rest of the day away, which also included some nightly hero duty for the entirety of that very same night.

 _Huh… he'd only have four hours of sleep with that kind of timetable… No wonder he sleeps in the middle of the day._

"... Fine," Aizawa muttered in minor annoyance. He sent a glare towards Yu and frowned. "Pack your things."

 _What did I do!?_

"If I have to go, then you're coming with me," Aizawa spoke up as if reading Yu's thoughts. "We're burning daylight. Hurry up."

As he said that, all the documents he had laid out on the table were suddenly piled into a neat stack and shoved into a briefcase. For a partially crippled man, that was fast.

Yu sighed and sent a short half-hearted glare to her best friend, who also sent her back a simple wink and cheeky tongue.

"Come on!" Uwabami cheered in the relatively empty meeting room. "There's a neat cafe I've always wanted to go to!"

When she gets back to her office, she'd have to have a little talk with her secretary.

-0-0-0-

It really didn't take long, but Yu had managed to work herself into a disguise. Which really wasn't much, seeing as she just took off her mask and costume and put on civilian attire. She didn't really need any more than that, her costume had a mask anyway.

It would be really inconvenient if someone recognized her while she was going to try and relax.

Uwabami had worn a new hoodie, one that had nice and fluffy innards for her head snakes to rest in. There was a blue fist on it too. When inquired about it, Uwabami just said that the jacket was a gift from her parents, saying it was a precious relic from the past or something like that.

Aizawa didn't need to wear a disguise, seeing as he never worked in the public eye anyway, and was thus nearly unnoticeable. The skinny office worker was with him too, most likely there to ensure the pro hero actually went to the cafe.

Which was basically why Uwabami and Kamui woods were with her.

Speaking of Kamui Woods, Shinji had worn a simple coat over his body. His usual wooden mask had been altered with his quirk, so now it looked closer to a knight's mask with a small opening for his mouth. It was different enough that people didn't recognize him.

Although, in Yu's opinion, the knight mask look was kinda stupid looking. Why couldn't he just take the darn thing off instead?

"We're here!" Uwabami shouted in glee, not drawing any attention from the slightly street. The sun had only just begun to set, which meant that people were probably on a rush home.

"It doesn't look like much," Aizawa stated.

"I think that it is quite homely," Said the skinny man with a blonde shaggy mane, whom Yu should really learn the name of.

"Indeed, the atmosphere of the cafe when I was last here was… refreshing," Shinji said with a smile. Kinda odd, seeing as Yu wasn't used to seeing him with a _mouth_ of all things.

"Wait," Uwabami uttered, sounding just a little bit betrayed. "You've been here before? When?"

"I think it was several days ago… Or was it a few days ago?" Shinji muttered. He turned to Yu for assistance. "Takeyama-san, do you recall? You were here with me."

Yu felt her brow twitch.

"Shinji, I thought I told you to call me by my name, didn't I?" Yu berated. "Did you already forget?"

"Ah… my apologies, Yu," Shinji muttered. "Yes, I did forget. It has been quite a few harrowing days."

Yu simply sighed in response.

"Just don't forget again. I don't like my friends calling me by my last name. I'm not my mother, damn it!"

"Fine, fine." Shinji waved her off. "I'm going ahead to reserve us a table."

Yu just watched as Shinji walked right in, greeted by Endeavor's kid again. She still couldn't believe that Endeavor's kid worked in a cafe. He was ranked the second-most popular professional hero in the country for crying out loud, you'd think his daughter would be able to get a much better job.

"Well? Any explanations, Yu?"

The single mother simply blinked at Uwabami's question.

"Sorry 'bami-chan, did you ask something?"

"That little exchange with Kamui Woods!" She whispered hurriedly. "Already on a first-name basis? You sly girl!"

Yu could feel a headache forming.

"Nope. Nuh-uh. You got it wrong," Yu denied fervently. "Didn't I say it a while ago? I don't like being called 'Takeyama'. That's my mom's thing."

Uwabami's smile dropped.

"So you're not dating?"

"Nope."

"So the first name thing?"

"We're not in middle school anymore, 'bami-chan."

Uwabami sighed and turned away, muttering something about a betting pool and her luck being horrible, not that Yu overheard her or anything…

She was going to keep an open ear about anything related to gambling from now on.

"Are you girls coming in or what?" Aizawa called from the half-open front door. "Nishiya found us an open table. Hurry up, I'm already hungry."

Seeing the irritated look on his face, Yu sighed and walked on ahead with Uwabami following after her. Yu's own irritation didn't last long when she entered the establishment.

She smiled as the atmosphere hit her once more. The smell of freshly brewing coffee and confections. The sound of customers simply relaxing in silence after a hard day's work. It felt like a breath of fresh air after the mountains of paperwork she had been working through during the last few days.

Maybe her secretary was right, she really did need a break.

She followed Aizawa and Mr. Skinny Skeleton man until they stopped by a window, one that showed the street that they had just been on, and took a leisure seat.

Oh… how comfy these seats were. She could feel the stress practically slip away~.

"Well, well, if it isn't another table full of professional heroes. I see that you are all enjoying yourselves. If it isn't too troublesome, may I take your orders?"

Yu blinked to see a familiar dark-skinned man besides their table, the owner of the cafe, Farran. It hadn't even been a minute since they sat down and they were already handed menus. The service must be doing great, it took a short while during the last time she was here.

Or… maybe it wasn't? The usual waiter and butler seemed to be absent… Oh, never mind. Yu spotted the two of them with serving trays to other tables. It was just a very busy hour for them this afternoon.

It was very surprising though, that a new cafe managed to garner these many customers in its opening week. Now, it's only a matter of time before we see how many of them end up becoming regulars.

"Black Coffee," Aizawa muttered as he made his order. "Nothing fancy, I need something to keep me up."

"I-Ignore that order!" Skeleton McGangly said. Oh wow, Yu really felt bad about that one. "He's under his doctor's orders to rest well. Can you get him something lighter, if possible?"

The owner of the cafe simply sent Aizawa a glance. The two of them seemed to have a conversation with just their eyes. When one blinked, the other did so too.

"Those aren't regular injuries… I see. I think I know what will do," Farran uttered. "Take it as a guarantee, if what I serve you doesn't satisfy you, then you may leave without paying."

 _Wha–_

"Oh? Are you sure about that?" Aizawa said, his eyes narrowing at the challenge. "That's a rather naive thing to do. What's stopping me from walking out with my wallet full, even if I do enjoy it?"

"Aizawa-kun!"

"Absolutely nothing," The owner of Cafe d'Acier proclaimed boldly. "However, I am confident that the coffee you will get will be able to satiate you."

Aizawa simply narrowed his eyes further. He made no other comment and looked out the window, effectively ensuring that he wasn't going to say anything else.

However, the owner wasn't deterred and simply smirked at the challenge. "And for the rest of you?"

"A-Ah… Then, a regular Latte will be fine."

"Flat White will do," Uwabami ordered.

"A Mochaccino if you would," Shinji said.

Yu looked over the menu and shrugged. "I don't know much about coffee, so I'll take whatever you recommend."

"I understand, if you would please wait for a few minutes," Farran said as he bowed, taking only a second to turn on his feet and walk away, undoubtedly towards the kitchen if the smirk on his face told Yu anything.

"So, Aizawa," Uwabami began. "That was kinda weird, antagonizing a civilian like that over coffee."

"If he was brazen enough to say that his coffee would be able to satisfy someone he hadn't met yet, then it means he's either a fool… or someone with enough skill and experience to do so," Aizawa said with a frown underneath his bandages. "I'm merely testing his resolve. I don't like mediocrity in my coffee."

"… Were you always such a high-spec person…?" Skinny man said with a raised brow. "Never mind, I hope his coffee will be able to satisfy you."

"I sure hope it does, Toshinori-san," Uwabami said, saving Yu the need to ask the guy about his name. "It is strange though. Did you guys recognize that they sound kinda similar? Like, if Aizawa lost the bandages and sounded less tired, then they do kind of sound the same?"

"… I don't like where this is going."

"Now that you mention it…" Toshinori muttered. "It certainly sounded like Aizawa in his early hero days."

"Stop."

"The resemblance is definitely uncanny, to say the least," Shinji muttered. "Perhaps he is a long lost relative?"

"I'm warning you all."

"I wouldn't put it past him to keep it from us though." Yu found herself mischievously echoing.

 _It just felt so vindictively good!_

"Fine, do whatever you want."

"Don't be such a sour puss, Aizawa!" Uwabami cheered. "We're here to relax. Don't rain on the parade, right Yu?"

Suddenly having the torch of the conversation thrown at her, Yu just sighed and winged it, much like she usually did. "I don't know, I don't really see it. That owner kinda reminds me of someone else."

Uwabami raised a brow.

"Really? Who?"

After scrunching up her brow and racking her brain through a metaphorical grinder. The professional hero sighed as she gave up.

"I don't know… can't really place a finger on it." Yu said. "I met him before when I last came here, but he really does look kind of familiar… but in a weird way, not that familiar. Dunno, can't really explain it."

It was really weird, just plain weird. When Yu first laid eyes on him days ago, she didn't really think much of him. However, today she saw the guy smirk at the thought that his coffee wouldn't satisfy someone. She really felt that she saw that smirk before…

 _Oh well, no use thinking about it._

"Well, it seems that your musings will have to come to an end. Here he comes," Shinji uttered.

As if clockwork, the owner came back with a serving tray. There were five beverages on it, three of which were handed out readily to the Toshinori, Shinji, and Uwabami.

"Thank you," Toshinori thanked as he took his regular latte. A rather medium sized cup with foam atop of it. There was a sword very stylistically drawn atop of it, probably a rapier by the looks of it.

When Toshinori took a sip, the foam jiggled as the coffee crawled out from underneath it and into his lips.

"Mmm… Truly refreshing… How are your drinks, everyone?"

"Well, only one way to find out!" Uwabami said with a smile. She took a leisure sip of her Flat White, which looked much like an Espresso but with a very small layer of foam atop, where a similar sword was stylistically drawn atop of it as well.

In contrast to Toshinori's latte, where the foam reached above the boundaries of the cup, the Flat White's foam layer was flat, as the name implied, and completely parallel with the cup itself. The drawn sword jiggled but didn't break apart when Uwabami finished her sip.

"Hmm… this tastes better than the others that I've tried before? It looks like a regular Flat White though…?"

"Coffee can be influenced a lot by the way it is handled, ma'am," The owner informed with a satisfied smirk. "From the way we pour the hot water to very beans we select, it is all done with customer satisfaction in mind."

"I can certainly taste it… it is rather pleasing," Shinji said as his sip into the hot beverage failed to even phase him. He was probably tolerant of the heat, which he would probably want to train to be considering his quirk.

His drink, a Mochaccino, seemed to be similar to Uwabami's, but there was a sprinkle of chocolate flakes atop of it, contrasting greatly with the pearly white foam beneath it… which also had a rapier drawn atop of it. Kind of noticing a theme here.

"It tastes a lot closer to chocolate than others… I wonder why?"

"That is because I took the liberty to mix the coffee beans with just a little cocoa powder in order to add a hint of chocolate," Farran added. "I see that it has paid off well."

Yu watched in slight amusement as her beverage was placed before her. It looked like much of the same that Toshinori had, save for the stylized cream that was atop of it, with a stick of cinnamon as well. She eyed the owner, who took the prompt to explain with a slight smile on his face.

"Compared to the other drinks, I prepared an iced coffee variant for you," He informed. "The whipped cream atop is decorated with shredded chocolate to add some sweetness. The stick of cinnamon adds a unique tang and flavor, though I advise that you do not directly eat it."

He said that last bit with a slightly tired smile. Poor man, there must have been a ton of idiots who did that.

"I remembered that you ordered a parfait and cake the last time you were here, both of which are cold so I thought that you would be partial towards much colder beverages. Please enjoy yourself."

 _This guy…_

He hit the nail on her preferences. The fact that he remembered Yu was here a little over a week ago was just a little odd, but it wouldn't do any good to dwell on it.

Yu eyed the beverage one more time before smiling. "Thank you, Mr. Farran. I just might."

She was here to relax, and that was what she was going to do.

"And I suppose that the last beverage is mine?"

 _Ah, wait a minute. There was still a challenge that was going on._

 _Damn._

"Yes, it is," Farran confirmed, once more with that oddly familiar smirk. "I do hope that you enjoy it."

"I certainly hope so," Aizawa blurted out.

The beverage was set on the table. It looked like nothing out of the ordinary... like it was a simple latte… _exactly_ like one, actually. Aizawa narrowed his eyes, and it was there that Yu started to grow uneasy.

She really hoped that the sleep-deprived pro hero didn't cause a scene, or hoped that the latte itself had some special property to it.

"This is what you were so confident about?" Aizawa asked. "It doesn't look like much."

"True, looks and presentation play a big factor to food…" The owner said. "However, it is the taste that matters above all. I suggest that you partake."

"Oh…?" Aizawa muttered with a slightly amused tone. That was good, at least he wasn't outright angry. "Very well."

Aizawa took a sip.

Silence fell on the table as the surrounding curious professional heroes glanced his way.

He took another sip.

"It's… passable."

"I suppose it is," Farran smirked. "Well, I suggest that you take a nap after you finish it. Valerian root is hard to come by these days."

 _Valerian– what now?_

While Yu and the others had not a single clue as to what that was, Aizawa, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what it was.

"So that's your game…" Aizawa muttered. "Never mind. You win, it surpasses my expectations."

"Um… do you know what Valerian root is, Aizawa-kun?" Toshinori asked what Yu was going to.

"It's a root that acts as a natural sedative. In other words, it makes you feel sleepy," Aizawa said. "There have been records of it being used in coffee… are you trying to make me take a coffee nap?"

"You seem like someone who does his work well at night. Once you finish with your coffee nap, then you'll be feeling refreshed enough to continue working," Farran smirked as he finished explaining. "I'm sure that your doctor wouldn't disagree. After all, you're still getting some rest."

After that, Aizawa did what Yu never expected.

He laughed.

Like, _literally_ laughed. Like a loud one and not his usual creepy chuckles. It was as if he had just heard a joke that he couldn't just ignore, which was odd because Yu didn't notice a joke there.

He actually laughed.

"You have an unexpected level of insight for a cafe owner."

Farran smirked in response.

"It's a chef's duty to understand their customer, isn't it? I'm merely fulfilling that duty."

"I see…"

Aizawa spent a few seconds sending a scrutinizing glance towards the cafe owner whilst finishing his coffee. It was because Yu worked alongside him and other pro heroes that she noticed just a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

Yu was going to ask him what he was thinking, but ultimately she wasn't going to be able to, seeing as the forever sleepy pro hero reclined his head back on the soft chair they sat on.

"Wake me up in fifteen minutes."

And just like that, he was out like a light.

"I… didn't think he would actually sleep," Toshinori muttered. "Aizawa-kun always fights to stay awake until he finishes all of his work. And even then, with his schedule, he doesn't sleep at this time of day, at all."

"Or night, seeing as it's seven pm now. The guy really needs to take a break once in a while," Uwabami informed as she glanced at her watch and stared out the window, with the night sky present…

… _Night sky?_

 _Shit! Shirou!_

Her panic rose like a torrent, which was noticed by all save for the sleeping Aizawa.

"Sorry guys, I need to head home!" Yu muttered as she took a glance at her beverage. Looks like she'll need to suffer a brain freeze for just a little bit–

"Archer! Where do you keep the black coffee beans!?"

– _Hm? That voice…?_

Farran's eye twitched as he turned around and faced towards the kitchens.

"Don't call me that! Didn't Todoroki tell you where it is? At the back of the hallway, the fifth barrel!"

"She left before she could tell me!"

 _No… it couldn't be._

"You should've known, imbecile!"

"I can't read minds, asshole!"

… _It is._

"You should've known where I would put it! And be quiet!"

"There's no way I'd know what you'd be thinking about– wait, aren't you shouting too!?"

"Shirou?" Yu muttered, ending the two shouts between the owner and the mystery voice.

Farran blinked.

Two seconds later, a familiar mop of red hair exited the kitchen wearing an apron over a small black butler suit.

Once he laid eyes on her, his mouth automatically stammered.

"Yu!? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be busy with work tonight?"

"Yu?" Farran eyed them both. "You thought she would be… you two know each other?"

Yu's brow twitched.

"What am I doing here…?" She muttered, seemingly ignoring what the owner asked. She got off from her seat and stood up. "I should be asking that! Why aren't you on your way home!?"

"Home?" Farran muttered once more. "Clearly, I am missing some important detail."

Uwabami peered over the shoulder of standing form of Yu. She took a sip of her Flat White and made a sound of understanding.

"Oh… Look Nishiya, it's Yu's kid."

The wood hero leaned forward and stared at the small event unfolding. "Ah, it is definitely young Shirou. I wonder what her son is doing here."

Farran blinked.

"Wait, _Son_?"

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly on her son before facing her once more.

"My apologies, I was unaware that your… _son_ , wasn't here with his _parent's_ permission." He said those parts weirdly, yet Yu couldn't figure out why. "He has been working under my supervision for the past week as a part-time chef. If you wish, we can talk about this issue somewhere more private."

Yu narrowed her eyes on her adoptive son once more.

"... That would be appreciated."

Looks like she wasn't going to be relaxing today after all.

 _Terrific._

* * *

Shirou sat on his folded apron laid upon a box – for comfort – which was up to his waist in height. From there, he could see the irritated glare that Archer gave him and the troubled and confused stare of his adoptive mother.

Archer opted to lean on the wall, as per usual whenever they were in this room, whilst the only chair was offered to Yu, but she too opted to stand.

Seeing the two of them stare at each other for just a short while was like watching a powder keg on the verge of imploding. More due to Yu than Archer, who was relatively calm throughout.

It was a good thing that Shirou had told him that he had an adoptive mother when he first came to the servant.

Otherwise, the lie that Archer had no idea Shirou didn't have permission wouldn't have been as fluid.

While Shirou was confident in his ability to lie, something that Archer laughed at for some reason but he chalked it up to him just being able to read his younger self easily, Archer's ability to lie was a step further than what Shirou could do.

He watched as the two of them started talking. While Shirou could overhear them, he opted to just let Archer handle the entire debacle.

Although… the few uncertain glances that Yu sent his way were painful in their own right.

It may seem odd to Yu that Shirou was here in a cafe, but he could pull always pull a bluff that he was working on his coffee brewing skills. The trust built from living together for a few months was no doubt going to be tested here, no thanks to Shirou himself… but, he couldn't have told Yu was going here in the first place.

He could have told her, Shirou really could have, but the thing with that idea was that she'd ask why he'd be training in a cafe of all places.

It'd just look odd, which was no doubt what it looked like now. There was a tournament in his school coming in a few weeks and here he was, doing some relaxing work in a cafe, while his classmates worked on getting stronger.

To anyone other than Shirou and Archer, it'd look like he wasn't taking it seriously, which was honestly what Shirou felt about the tournament anyway so there weren't any misconceptions about that there.

But he wasn't relaxing at all.

There was only one way for him to get stronger right now, and the only person that could help him in that endeavor was standing right in front of him talking with his adoptive mother.

 _Shirou rolled under a sweep as a sword swiped over him. However, he couldn't avoid the boot kicking him away and onto the pavement of the rooftop._

 _They were high enough that no hero would be able to normally see or notice them. There was always the occasional hero flying above them, but the bounded field on the rooftop prevented them from being noticed as an extra precaution._

" _Too slow," Archer rebuked. "Are you really trying to get stronger?"_

" _Shut up!" Shirou retorted as he stood up once more, holding the heavily favored Kanshou and Bakuya in each hand._

 _Archer stood before him doing much of the same. However, even from a glance, Shirou could tell that his projections were still at a higher quality than his own, even if they weren't the same blades._

 _The two rushed at each other once more, with Kanshou and Bakuya meeting his blades._

 _Each moment of impact between the married blades, Shirou felt like he understood more, felt like he could do more._

 _He had heard Archer speak about this once before, about how monks used to commune with their past lives to further gain enlightenment._

 _That was what he was doing now. Instead of training, Shirou was taking the shortcut of sparring with Archer in order to gain more experience artificially. However, in the process, he would be seeing through Archer's eyes the same horrors he had lived through his service under Alaya._

 _It was honestly as bad as it was the first time he had seen them. Yet, throughout their short ten-minute training session so far, Shirou had not once thought of quitting._

 _Quitting here and now would be unfathomable, especially since Shirou was the one who asked Archer in the first place._

 _There was a reason he was going through this sort rigorous of training._

 _Shirou did not know when Avenger, or that league of villains, would show their faces again. Training regularly like everyone else wouldn't suffice, he had to get stronger physically, magically and mentally._

 _Otherwise, he would not be able to protect his classmates._

 _It was from that reason alone that he hiked his way to Archer's cafe in the first place. His friends didn't mind that he left early, seeing as they were all going to be spending their time training anyway, so they probably thought he was doing the same…_

 _Although probably not to the extent that Shirou was going for. The process of siphoning experience was long and arduous, especially considering how long Archer exactly lived…_

 _Archer growled._

… _but that connection was also a two-way street._

 _Archer kicked him away, causing Shirou to roll on the concrete roof once more, but he had reinforced himself to prevent any damage. He could already sense the indignant irritation from the servant, mostly because that kick he gave could've shattered a rib or two if Shirou didn't specifically reinforce them._

" _Are you an idiot? Why didn't you use a bow more!? At that time, if you had reacted sooner, then you could have ended the threat before it even began." Archer berated heavily. "The more and more I see your memories, the more I want to gut you. Why did I even agree to this?"_

 _Yes, the memory and experience siphoning happened both ways. Just as Shirou saw his memories and experiences, Archer saw his own._

 _Before, they had an incredibly similar past – if not then completely identical – but because Shirou had been living in this world of quirks for the past several months, they were different in some way. In other words, Shirou had something that Archer didn't have._

 _So with that in mind, Archer could see how he arrived, how he continued after that, and how he arrived at their current situation._

" _Get up, we're not done yet," Archer ordered._

 _As much as Shirou was annoyed from it, he obeyed without question and charged once more, resuming their ballad of blades once more._

" _You're using your smaller body well enough, that I admit," Archer said as he dodged a thrust, but held a dagger in his left hand, using it as an extension of his body to drag Shirou's smaller arm forward, and into a painful piledriving knee to the chest. "However, you shouldn't be rushing in like an idiot all the time! Let them attack first!"_

 _Shirou tried to find room to breathe as he backed away, but the knee to his chest had stunned him for a bit, allowing Archer to kick him away once more._

" _If that had been reinforced, you would have a punctured lung."_

 _Archer fought as he usually would, taunting and baiting his opponent to attack his openings first, before inevitably countering every attack before they even landed. However today, there was a huge difference. The servant was implementing far more kicks and movements that relied on being physically stronger._

 _It was a complete antithesis to his usual fighting style, so much so that it both looked and felt unnatural to both him and Shirou._

 _But adopting that style was necessary._

 _For it was the fighting style of the current Angra Mainyu._

 _Yes, from just a few minutes of sparring, Archer had learned what he fought all those months ago and just a few days ago, and in order to prepare for him once more, Archer was currently sparring whilst using both Tawrich and Zarich, the Fang Grinders._

 _Perhaps he should have thanked Avenger, because if he wasn't around, then Shirou wouldn't have been able to convince Archer to even begin training him. Then again, Avenger was half the reason Shirou even wanted to train in the first place._

 _When Shirou first arrived to ask for training, all he had to do was mention the amalgamation of all the world's evils to convince him. Archer really liked this vacation, and having Angra Mainyu here was going to make it harder to enjoy, apparently._

 _Shirou didn't really think that 'wanting to enjoy his vacation' was his true reason, but he didn't push it._

 _So by using the Fang Grinders, he would be helping Shirou get used to fighting against him in the future. They shared such a similar enough height and body structure that they were practically the same foe. Familiarity with the enemy was paramount._

 _Honestly, Shirou expected Archer to head out there and start hunting the rogue heroic spirit himself… but the fact that the much stronger servant didn't try that was… not exactly comforting._

 _A timer shaped like an egg rang its dissonant tone from off to their side, signaling the end of a session. Archer hadn't even broken a sweat, but Shirou was left groveling in his own puddle._

" _Time's up. Take a breather and we'll resume in three minutes." Archer ordered._

 _Shirou nodded, not bothering to say anything back._

 _After all, the two of them had nothing more to say to each other, their dance of blades told each other more than enough…_

" _I heard from Todoroki that you'll be joining that U.A. sports festival."_

… _or, at least it should have been._

" _Yeah," Shirou confirmed. "But it's going to be broadcast out to the entire country, so I'm not going to participate as much as you'd think."_

 _Archer gave off a short sound of mild interest. "… keeping what skills you have up your sleeve a secret in case any villains watch the broadcast. I see, that is certainly something that I would do."_

 _A short second after that, Archer threw a water bottle. It soared through the air, flipping a few times, before hitting Shirou right in between his eyes._

" _What the hell was that for!?"_

" _Your idiocy frustrated me so I wanted to hit you."_

 _Shirou felt his brow twitch violently._

" _And what, exactly, am I being stupid about?"_

" _You plan to hang back and let your classmates get ahead of you," Archer stated._

" _And what's wrong with that?" Shirou argued. "Success in the festival means a lot to all of them. Their future as a professional hero counts on it. If they don't do well, then it'll be harder for them to get a good start in the future. I don't need to succeed here as much as they do."_

" _Let me guess, even if you don't do well, you'll still try to continue on being a 'hero' regardless," Archer muttered as he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "It's not even hard to think about what you would do. Your thought process is so painfully obvious that I want to wring your throat."_

 _Archer's eyes opened once more. "Never mind, if you can't see what's wrong with it, then there's no point in talking about it. Get up, we're going again."_

 _It hadn't even been three minutes._

 _Shirou sighed and grabbed the egg-shaped timer next to him, twisting it for ten minutes. In a few seconds, they resumed._

He was truly lucky that he managed to convince the servant. At this rate, he would be able to protect his classmates better.

"… and that's the gist of it," Archer explained, snapping Shirou from his reminiscing. He had no idea what the servant had said, but from the look on Yu's face, it must have been marginally convinced.

"… I still don't get why Shirou would be here when there's the sports festival just around the corner," Yu spoke her mind. "He's supposed to be training. The sports festival isn't a joke, it could determine the success of his future career as a hero as a whole."

At the word _hero_ , Shirou noticed Archer clench his fist ever so slightly. However, it was already clenched and hidden under his apron, so Yu didn't notice.

"There is no need for worry ma'am," Archer offered, looking a bit annoyed he had to say it. "While I may look like an average chef, I am uniquely suited to aiding your son in his hero training."

 _There's nothing average looking about you, Archer._

"Is that so?"

Shirou had to blink as he spun his head. Behind him was the entrance to the backroom that they had all stood in, and from that entrance was none other than Aizawa-sensei.

Shirou did fleetingly notice him sleeping a while ago, but the teacher seemed to have awoken, no doubt from the screaming he had been doing earlier.

That, or from Yu's own screaming. She had a louder voice in comparison, mainly due to her quirk.

"Aizawa?" Yu muttered in surprise. "Wait, you're awake?"

"With the amount of screaming that you, the brat, and the chef did, anyone would be," He muttered annoyed, stepping into the room uninvited. "At least I had a five-minute nap. Not enough for the coffee to set in, though."

Archer frowned.

"My apologies. I can offer you another on the house at a later date. Perhaps on your next visit."

"Ensuring a returning customer… Smart. That'd be appreciated," Aizawa thanked in his roundabout way. "By the way, the others are starting to get antsy, so let's wrap this up quickly. Back to my question, how would a chef know about training a hero?"

"Well, the reason is quite simple. I am not an average chef," Archer said.

The pro hero scanned the cafe owner from head to toe.

"… You're right about not being a regular chef," Aizawa muttered. "Anyone can see that your physique is a cut above average. Did you study to become a hero before?"

Once again Archer clenched his fist, something that Aizawa actually seemed to notice this time around. However, he didn't react to the act at all, acting as if he never saw it.

"You could say that," Archer managed to force out in a surprisingly natural way. "In addition to that, our quirks are similar enough that I know how to help him out."

He held out his hand and traced a simple chef's knife. Surprising the two pro heroes.

"I provide him tips and training, and as payment, he works for me during rush hours," Archer said with a smug grin. "While I'm restricted to only making these knives, I'm sure I can instill some ingenuity in your son."

That was the biggest bold lie Shirou had ever heard. Can only trace knives? If only, then Shirou could have at least some advantage over the guy.

At least it was a good lie, no doubt Archer had come up with it during their many training sessions together… or he made it on the spot, which was also as plausible as it was unlikely.

Shirou wished he had thought of that lie instead _before_ he had been caught by his adoptive mother.

"I see…" Yu muttered. Shirou was sure that in her mind, there was no doubt that sticking around with 'Farran' for a few weeks could be beneficial for developing his quirk. Somehow.

However, she still wore a look of slight unease, almost as if she didn't fully trust him. Shirou couldn't really blame her, he didn't really trust Archer either…

 _Damn it._

Even if they settled their differences already, they still subtly abhorred one another. It was a given, seeing as they represented what each other despised the most.

"Fine," Yu finally agreed. "But, I'll be here every day from now on to pick him up. I don't like the idea of Shirou wandering around at night alone."

Archer seemed to find this funny and gazed at Shirou with a smug grin.

"I suppose it is fair that you would be worried about his wellbeing. We wouldn't want a _child_ getting hurt at night."

Oh… Shirou was so going to aim for his jewels the next time they sparred.

"Come on, Shirou," Yu started. "We're going home. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Farran."

Archer nodded.

"It was… an enlightening meeting, ma'am," He returned. Archer then sent a minor glare towards his younger self. "And you, don't be late next time."

Shirou found his brow twitching.

"The school gates were crowded, Archer."

Archer didn't care and walked out of the room, most likely to head back towards the kitchens.

"Then jump over a wall."

The thing is that Shirou could tell that Archer wasn't joking there. Even after sparing and technically learning more about him, he still couldn't understand the guy.

Shirou sighed.

"I'll go get my things," Shirou said as he turned to his mother.

"I'll be waiting for you outside," Yu replied, but it was in a softer tone. "We'll talk about this when we get home."

Shirou's feet stopped cold as Yu's own hurriedly left.

… Looks like he would need to make the dinner extra tasty tonight.

 _I really wish I thought of Archer's excuse sooner._

* * *

"Looks like there are no issues with your body now," Kurogiri's disembodied voice said. "You're back at peak performance."

Angra Mainyu, who sat on a chair with flexible pipes embedded into his back and nape, smiled. "No need to tell me that, I already feel better."

Kurogiri sent him a strange look but made no further comment. He stepped out of the room that Angra Mainyu sat inside, no doubt back towards his personal bar to relieve some stress.

Angra Mainyu flexed his wrist and craned his neck, feeling slightly sore from sitting still for several hours. Using his Noble Phantasm had been strenuous for the bag of flesh he called a body.

Kind of understandable, this body of his might have regeneration, but that regeneration still had some flaws, and that was it wouldn't be able to handle straight and continuous use of his Noble Phantasm.

Oh yeah, speaking of his Noble Phantasm, Verg Avesta seemed to have taken a level-up pill. He didn't just reflect regular damage, but now the wounds that came with it, evident from the marks that the hero All Might left on his own body.

He could still use his regular Verg Avesta to reflect regular damage, but that was only when he used a regular human body. Angra Mainyu wasn't a magus, nor would he claim to know of its inner workings, but maybe his new body was somehow supplementing the change.

Somehow, but he didn't care either way.

He'd think about it another day, for now, he simply recalled the aftermath.

The aftermath of USJ, that is…

" _You knocked me out!?" Shigaraki screamed once he came to a looked around him, seeing an ever familiar bar. "Why!? I still had lives left! I could have killed the Symbol of Peace!"_

 _Angra Mainyu had to resist the urge to sigh at his 'boss'. Actually, he couldn't even sigh if he wanted to, his throat was still busy regenerating. The pale guy was currently using his quirk to rip parts of his body into dust._

 _Angra Mainyu liked the guy, he really did, but when was this tantrum going to end? Not that it was painful or anything, he felt worse when he was just a boy, whose body bled from the curses they carved onto him, and buried up to his neck. And even after all that, they had his arms and legs both beaten and broken so he couldn't even attempt to escape._

 _He would've smiled if he could._

 _Even with time, humanity's evils never changed._

" _That's enough."_

 _Like clockwork, the television beside Angra Mainyu came to life. As soon as those two words were uttered, Shigaraki Tomura ceased his mindless raging, focusing on the screen. However, his eyes were still haggard and filled with fury._

" _Why!? Explain, sensei!"_

" _There is no need for you to be upset. There will be many more chances for you to kill the Symbol of Peace." The television screen flickered with static for just a short second as the 'big boss' began his reply. As the words smoothly flowed out, Shigaraki Tomura silently listened._

 _Even while crude and raging with fury, Angra Mainyu could see the respect Shigaraki held for the big boss in his eyes._

" _Angra Mainyu's decision was a right one, there is no shame in a tactical retreat. While your ally managed to wound All Might, he was still strong enough to fight back. You would not have been able to beat him before the other pro heroes arrived, there is no shame in admitting that."_

 _The words slowly sank in for the pale man, but his fingers were still twitching in anger._

" _Damn it!"_

 _The guy grabbed a hoodie and was out the door quicker than most would._

" _Follow him, Kurogiri. Ensure he does not do anything… rash."_

" _Yes, sir," Kurogiri agreed. His spectral body faded into himself as he teleported away, but Angra Mainyu could still see the lingering gaze of confusion and wariness he held._

 _He wished he could smirk, but by the time his face had regenerated enough to do so, Kurogiri was gone._

 _There was a long string of silence left between them._

" _So, are you going to ask, or what?" Angra Mainyu uttered._

" _I am merely waiting for the best way to phrase my question," The main boss said. "When we said that you'd be the back-up fighter against All Might, I expected that you would end up becoming a punching bag. However, I did not expect you to do so… well, against him."_

 _Angra Mainyu let a little chuckle escape him as he crawled to his feet, his tendons finally regenerating._

" _Of course I did, I'm the embodiment of humanities evils, after all! Even if he was the Symbol of Peace, he was still human." He boasted._

 _Even Angra Mainyu knew that those words wouldn't convince anyone._

" _I suppose you aren't? Again with these delusions…" The voice sighed out. Angra Mainyu snickered, almost as if there was a joke. "Fine, whether or not you're what you say you are, it does not matter. What does matter, though, is how you were able to enter that bestial form of yours."_

 _Angra Mainyu felt like there was more to be said and stayed silent to listen._

" _A stronger and faster form tied with the ability to reflect physical injuries… I did not add those quirks to your body, Angra Mainyu."_

 _He smirked._

" _Of course you didn't. To begin with, it was my power ."_

" _So even as a creature without a body, you were able to use a quirk? Interesting…" There must have some thought going around the big boss' head because he was silent for a while. "… As interesting as that is, do not forget that you only exist for Tomura."_

 _The nape of Angra Mainyu tingled._

" _I would hate for you to gain any… ideas."_

He still smirked as he recalled it. The old geezer thought he had a secondary quirk that reflected wounds. He didn't even acknowledge that it was supernatural in the slightest. Not even with his own worthless testimony.

Angra Mainyu would have to drown the guy in curses for him to believe him, but even then, it was a long shot.

Not that being 'believed' was actually worth anything, but Angra Mainyu could admit one thing. When that guy kicks the bucket, he would become one hell of a heroic spirit, assuming a throne even exists in this world.

Until then, he was just a person that thought Angra Mainyu to be a boaster with a big ego. One who could now boast of nearly killing All Might, but a boaster that he dismissed all the same. With a single push of a button, the old geezer could erase him.

The chip in the nape of his artificial body was proof of that.

As old and arrogant as that guy was, he wasn't senile nor a fool. The big boss had put it on him to control him, thinking that he was nothing but a wild animal. True, with how he acted when he first appeared in the world, it was a good assumption.

However, Angra Mainyu wasn't an animal. The chip still subtly tried to influence him, but as long as he was aware of it, it wouldn't be doing anything at all. Essentially, granting him technical free will.

Technical, but that was it.

It was a shame, but there was a fail-safe in the chip. It could be manually or automatically activated if Angra Mainyu acted with malicious intent to the man-child, Shigaraki Tomura. It would activate even if he tried to rip it out of himself, or if someone else tried to.

Once it would be activated, it would turn off his regenerative quirk and release enough of an electric jolt to disrupt his nerves. Effectively killing him.

Well, not really, but it'd kill the body, leaving it _useless_ for Angra Mainyu.

He'd be back to a wraith, possessing random bodies, driven by the remaining embers of will that each of those bodies had, until they broke or died, like with what happened to his first one.

He didn't even bother to remember the guy who he possessed, but he definitely recalled the evil in his heart. The thoughts of finding the blonde that had murdered the original spirit, to break his or her limbs and bones, to utterly eviscerate the killer until nothing remained but a bloody wreck.

He'd be like a zombie with different intentions each and every incarnation. If he became like that… he would never get what he _truly_ wanted.

His current body was ideal. There was no previous ill intent to work his way through, essentially immortal to common causes of death, and it had the ability to let him do whatever he wanted!

He would never find a body like this ever again… The only problem was the chip in his nape. He was stuck as their reluctant ally until he could remove–

He could already feel the chip already vibrate in preparation, ready to release a surge of neurological-electricity to destroy the brain, and his precious body, if he dared to even finish the idle thought.

A smirk wormed its way onto his face.

Whether it was a vindictive one or a sad one, not even the embodiment of humanity's evil could know. Positive emotions weren't really his thing.

Angra Mainyu put on a coat and hoodie, taking steps out a back door and deciding to roam outside of the run-down building they called a base. He couldn't go too far from Kurogiri, seeing as the chip would also activate if it thought he was running away.

Luckily, the chip had a rather large radius, enough for him to journey around the entire city from one end to the other. It gave him enough freedom to wander as he wanted.

And so he did. Angra Mainyu wandered out of the alleyway to take in the sights of this brand new yet familiar world.

He saw a casino with multiple rich looking dudes walking in and out.

He saw clothing stores filled with regular high school girls.

He saw a bar with drunken men happily singing and cheering.

He saw arcades filled to the brim as competitive students surrounded the fighting game area.

He saw all of these things, seen from under the black, dark and starry sky… All seen with a chain around his neck, ready to choke the life out of him and end the freedom he had to wander.

All of his thoughts roamed, the curses within him bellowing out to the world with their endless evil, screaming whenever he saw the people around him live a life of blissful ignorance…

… but for Angra Mainyu, the man that was known to this world as ' _The Beast_ ' – who had experienced all of the world's evils to the point of irrefutable return – those evils were nothing but background noise to him. He smirked as he quelled the curses within him with a metaphorical tug on the chain and walked along without missing a step.

He would not let them.

Because as much as he hated humanity…

He still _loved_ every aspect of them.

Even though he reigned in these curses, he still felt them ready to lash out to the world once more, eager to drown them in their own curses and wondrous hypocrisy… but he would not let them.

These curses were more like angry and bloodthirsty dogs chained to a wall…

Just like he was.

Nothing more than a beast.

 _Nothing more than a Beast chained to a wall._

* * *

From outside the cafe, Aizawa stood beside Yu as they waited for their respective companions. Shirou for Yu, and Toshinori for Aizawa, who seemed to be busy trying to finish his latte.

Uwabami and Shinji had waited for them, but once they knew that Yu would be heading home, they decided to get a head start. Apparently, Shinji also had nightly duties to perform – only for Thursdays though, for some reason. Uwabami, on the other hand, had a photo shoot coming up soon and wanted to get some beauty sleep.

"How does he look?" Yu asked, voice unusually serious.

"He's clean," Aizawa replied, his own voice serious as well.

Within the grasp of his sole functioning hand was his phone, with his finger seamlessly scrolling through a database of names. In other words, the civilian records available to all professional heroes.

Well, not all of them. Only the rare few that were trusted with them, like the top ten in the country, or those who had proven to be undeniably trustworthy like Aizawa.

Someone like Yu, who had been a hero for only half a year, was still technically a rookie and didn't have that luxury.

With the ability to access the civilian records, pro heroes could make much more accurate decisions once they knew who they were up with, who around them had a quirk that could be useful, or who a potential villain could be.

Yu really didn't like the thought of potential villains, it was like holding a gun to someone's head just because they had a malicious quirk, kind of like that Hitoshi Shinso kid. He was listed there under the 'potential villains category'.

Of course, that category wasn't made public, but it was an open secret that nobody actually talked about.

Oh yeah, you also couldn't access the files of other pro heroes. Because why would you need to?

"Are you sure?" Yu asked. "How about his education history? He doesn't look Japanese, so could he be an immigrate?"

Yu really didn't trust the cafe owner at all. The fact that they were running a background check spoke volumes of it. From the looks of it, Aizawa didn't either.

Hence, why they were doing what they were currently doing.

"I tried to check, but I ran into a problem."

Yu narrowed her eyes.

"The rest of his files seem to be on lockdown," Aizawa said. "On request, only high ranked pro heroes have the authority to view his profile. I don't have enough clearance for it."

"That's… really not normal," Yu muttered with worry in her eyes. "Have you figured out under whose authority? You need to be pretty high on the totem pole to get someone's records protected like that."

Protected files were rare to come by, but they did have the names of the people who requested them written under them. They would only need to ask the pro hero who requested the protection in the first place for permission.

Which begs the question… who indeed would have requested it, and why?

Aizawa narrowed his eyes.

"We may have to give up on looking into his file."

"And why is that!?" Yu shouted in confusion. The streets around them were empty as the night sky, but her voice had still been loud enough to draw at least a few curious stares from within the cafe itself.

"We won't be able to reach this pro hero, or convince him at all," Aizawa informed. He held up the phone towards Yu's face.

Indignation was replaced with silent understanding upon realizing exactly _who_ it was that ordered ' _Farran's_ ' files to be protected.

"Damn it."

Yu nodded and gave up in frustration.

It would've been easier if Shirou had fallen into the wrong kind of group. At least she could beat the fear of a mother's wrath into them.

After all…

How in the world would they be able to convince someone as headstrong and prideful as the number two professional hero, _Endeavor?_

* * *

A high wall of glass separated the world from his office.

From behind that glass pane, he could see the city nightlife slowly come to life. The cars running about the streets, the people walking in crowds returning from their day jobs… and even students, acting carefree about their lives, moving forward with absolutely no plan about what to do next.

 _Pointlessly frivolous._

This was what he swore to protect, even if they didn't like it.

His eyes drifted to his desk beside him, one of the only things in his admittedly large office. Upon the woodwork was a file containing the recent incident at the U.A. high school.

It was a report of the students and their injuries, mostly useless to one such as he. However, there were details of a lesser-known villain, one who fought against All-Might.

Yes… _that_ All-Might.

The Number One Professional Hero of the country.

The fact that there was someone who could face him and actually escape… it got his blood boiling. Whether it was out of anger or excitement, he didn't know.

Anger at a mere villain thinking he could go toe-to-toe with the country's best and _actually survive_ … and excitement for any future chance that _he_ could be the one to _burn_ the arrogant upstart's bodily form.

When he succeeded, it would be a chance to get a higher rank than that stars-and-stripes man. It would be a chance to finally attain the rank he worked day-and-night to achieve.

All he would need to do is slay– capture the villain known as The Beast.

And none were more fit to do so, than _Endeavor_.

* * *

 **A/N: First off, apologies for getting this chapter out so late. I've been struggling to find the time and write this chapter out. The one day that I forced myself to sit down and write it out, I learn I had a quiz the day after that. So, needless to say, I'm in danger of failing one of my subjects, which is great.**

 **Major thanks to L33t Horo for helping me with this chapter. There are a couple of scenes that wouldn't be in this chapter had L33t Horo not pitch the idea out there.**

 **A minor/major announcement for you guys, I'm going to be rewriting a few scenes with Kodai Yui. Reason? Her quirk is worlds different to what I thought it was. While I thought her quirk involved growing and shrinking, because there was a scene where Kendo covered her entirely with the palm of her hand, but as it turns out, Kodai's quirk involves turning non-living objects larger or smaller. Also, instead of a close-ranged fighter, she's a long-ranged fighter.**

 **I love that Kohei made Class-B have fully fleshed out quirks, but goddamnit now I have to rewrite it. There's no if's and's or but's with that decision. It would REALLY annoy me if I didn't fix that continuation error, so expect the fix to be out sometime next month while I work on Bladed Horizon.**

 **Other than that, managed to roll Miyu on F/GO JP. Dunno what to use her for, seeing as I already have Merlin who does her job better tbh. Meh, I'll find a way to use her in the future... maybe.**

 **Other than that, not much else to say. I'll see you guys next when I update the previous chapter(s), and on March for the next chapter.**

 **Until next time.**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Minor grammatical fixes. Courtesy of 'Bigreader in The Omniverse',** **'snakespm', and 'The One Who Reads Too Much'.**

 **Also, managed to edit all scenes with Kodai Yui. If you haven't read the new fight scene, then go ahead and look at it if you want, but it won't really affect the story going forward, just the canon authenticity (it's like getting a personality trait wrong and suddenly the character is OOC, which I hate). You don't actually need to read it. However, if you haven't actually seen the old fight scene then this segment below is kinda pointless.**


	24. Chapter 23 - Sword in the Stadium

**Chapter 23**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

Rattling echoed about the empty cafe.

Slowly, but surely, the morning sun began to rise. However, it was nothing but a timer for those who open their businesses early. His employees often commented that their cafe should open at eight in the morning or some other reasonable time.

Five in the morning wasn't reasonable for them, apparently.

However, this was fine. After all, Archer always awoke early for it was a habit he could never quite break.

Archer set down a hefty box, wincing slightly as the box hit the storage room floor a bit too quickly. Hopefully, nothing inside would be damaged. Seeing as there was just flour in there, it was probably fine.

Still, there could be leakage from one of the packets ripping open. With this in mind, Archer got down on his knees, opened up the crate and began to sift through them one by one.

He would've been fine doing so for several minutes, but the sound of the cafe bell ringing dragged his attention. Turning to the wall clock, Archer found his brow rising ever so slightly.

Odd, he never had customers this early. Sure, there had been a few days where 'Pro Heroes', who had extremely early patrols, would come for a quick coffee break, but as far as Archer knew, this wasn't one of those days.

A quick look at his calendar absolved all confusion.

Ah… how could he forget?

Archer got on his feet and exited the storage room. It didn't take long before he made his way to the cafe floor. Standing there to greet him, was honestly someone Archer didn't really care to meet at this time.

There goes his morning, and he was just starting to enjoy it too.

"What is it, Emiya Shirou?" Archer allowed the words to flow from his mouth. "I had thought that your little festival starts today."

The hero-wannabe before him simply grimaced and let out a soft sigh. He ruffled his uniform, but from underneath Archer could catch glimpses of another one. Most likely his physical education uniform.

He was also holding a rather large and flimsy paper bag, almost as long as one of his arms.

"Think of it as a parting gift," he started as he loosened his grip on the paper bag. "I know you don't like me–"

"No surprise there."

The fool's brow twitched.

If it was in irritation, then Archer would be grateful.

"–but, even if the feeling is mutual," his younger self uttered with grit-teeth. "I know you didn't need to help train me, but you did. Just take it."

Archer let out a non-committal hum. However, that did nothing to stop him from catching the bag tossed towards him.

Already, Archer could rule out the idea that his younger-self had given him any foodstuff which meant that his interest waned. However, his nose twitched at the smell of prana… had his younger-self reinforced the flimsy paper bag?

He took a glance into the paper bag.

"I know that you probably won't find any use for it," Emiya Shirou added. "But we had an extra set. That spare wasn't going to be finding any use at home."

A miniature vacuum cleaner.

This time, Archer's brow twitched.

"Are you implying that my cafe is dirty, Emiya Shirou?"

Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that there were a few people wandering about outside, Archer would have strangled him.

"No, not at all," he uttered, but there was no denying the subtle shit-eating grin that grew on his face. He noticed that he irritated him, terrific. "I noticed that, while your own vacuum can handle nearly everything, it doesn't really reach into the corners or other hard-to-reach areas. That vacuum should be able to do the job."

His fury abated, Archer simply hummed and set the paper bag aside. "I suppose that is all you wanted to say?"

Emiya Shirou nodded. "Well then, I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait right there and don't move."

Archer's tone left no room for debate as he left the room. He felt subtle glee at catching the brat off guard, but he wouldn't deny that the kid's gift – Archer would forever laugh at the fact that he was even younger than before – was helpful.

Besides, it was time that he gave it to him.

When Archer returned, he was carrying a neatly-folded jacket.

A _familiar_ jacket.

His young self blinked.

"Is that–"

"It snagged on my waist-coat when we were pulled into the wormhole," Archer informed as he cut him off. He tossed it towards the confused teen. "It was damaged, but Setsuno offered to fix it up."

Why she would, Archer would never know. He said that it was worthless but the lanky teen wouldn't take no for an answer. Something about paying back his debts, but Archer didn't have any debt on him in the first place.

"I'm surprised you kept it in the first place," Shirou muttered.

"Setsuno wouldn't let me throw it out." Damn his quirk. He would always grab it no matter how far he'd throw it. "But that's not the point. Look in the front pocket."

He did as he was told and reached into it. His eyes widened in almost comical proportions as he withdrew something from it.

Actually, it would be rude to call a priceless gem worthless.

"Is this mine or yours?"

Archer shook his head.

"It's yours, I found it in the jacket's pocket. I gave mine back to Rin a while back," Archer narrowed his eyes. "Speaking of which, why did you leave it lying on the ground in the first place?"

"I didn't want it to get damaged against Gilgamesh." He shrugged as he replied. A few seconds later, his own eyes narrowed. "… Hang on, why didn't you give this back earlier? I was training with you for a week!"

"It'd irritate you, that's why."

Archer took great pleasure at the boy's rapidly twitching brow.

 _Heh._

"Now scram," Archer ordered as he turned his back. "Or would you rather be late for your little festival?"

His younger self said nothing as he shoved both the jacket and pendant into his bag.

"I really don't like you."

"The feeling is mutual, but don't do anything I would do."

Archer only looked back to his doorstep once he heard it close. With his younger self gone, he was once more in solitude. He took a quick glance at yet another nearby wall-clock.

Well, not for long. It would be a couple of minutes or so until Setsuno arrives, and a few more minutes after until Todoroki does too. He had asked if she wanted to take a break and watch her brother in the festival, but bringing that up around Todoroki seemed to unsettle her for just a bit.

Archer could imagine why.

With nothing more to do, the red-garbed chef made his way back into the storage room.

 _Well then, let's see if any packets actually broke?_

* * *

Shirou had arrived early.

So early, in fact, that he could not see another student around on the campus. So far, all he could see were people setting up their own stalls for the sports festival.

From most cultural festivals that Shirou participated in, he was sure that most of these stalls were made from students in either the general or business courses.

However, from what Shirou could see, there were also a few high-end stalls. A few stalls with brand names tied onto it like butter, much more refined in appearance than most of the student stalls.

It was interesting to think about, but he didn't really have time to leisure about.

"Good luck and do your best, Shirou!"

When he awoke, Yu had been there to give him encouraging words. Ready and hopeful that he would do well in the tournament. She was very supportive, but she didn't notice that Shirou just didn't care for it.

It was a showcase of abilities to villains around the country, and it would detriment his ability to deal with villains. The element of surprise wasn't the above all factor when dealing with villains, but it was extremely helpful to keep your trump cards secret for when you would need it.

The more you kept secret and held back, the more people would underestimate you. That was an irrefutable truth. However, he couldn't really work up the courage to tell her that.

For some reason… it felt _odd_ when imagining her disappointment.

Perhaps he should think about it later. For now, another needed his focus.

He thumbed a ruby-red pendant in his pocket.

He hadn't known that Archer had it, nor had he thought to check in the first place. He had thought that Rin still had it back in his home dimension, it could've served as a catalyst to bring him home.

On second thought, if the mages association caught wind that she performed inter-dimensional travel or summoning, then it could be trouble for their friends and family. The mages association didn't play nice, after all.

Settling inside his classroom, Shirou placed his bag by his desk and began taking off his uniform. He had worn his physical education uniform under it so he could change quickly for the event.

Normally, he would have chosen to just wear his sports uniform, but after a little warning from Yu, he didn't. There were loads of slightly sleepy news anchors wandering around the school, most likely looking for hero course students to interview. He was thankful to avoid that.

All he had to do now was wait for Aizawa and his classmates to arrive. He mentioned that he, or one of his co-workers if he couldn't make it, would be directing them to the room where they'd stay by the stadium.

And yes, U.A. had a stadium. Shirou didn't know why, but he attributed it to the schools seemingly endless budget. Seriously, it was like this school had far too much to spend.

Shirou took out the pendant from his uniform as he sat on his desk.

… _I wonder how Rin and Saber are doing?_

His question would remain unanswered, not that he knew it would anyway.

He clutched the pendant and held it to his forehead, feeling just a bit comforted by the cold gemstone. A quick twitch of his nose notified him of what little prana exists in the ruby-red pendant.

Rin's prana.

Shirou knew that dimensional travel was possible through the Second Magic and that Rin would likely be studying under him, courtesy of Archer. There was a high chance that they would see each other again… but not for a long while.

Learning took time, and Shirou had no idea what the time dilation between this dimension of heroes and their dimension of dying magecraft would be. A second could pass here but two could pass there, A day could pass there but a minute could pass here, even a year could be but a second in this world.

He didn't know, and he was sure that Archer wouldn't know either.

The pendant in his hands was the only keepsake he had of home, and while he heavily disliked his older counterpart, he was truly thankful that he had it.

Shirou would like to keep it on his person, but knowing the nature of the sports festival, which almost always ends in a battle versus at the end, there was a chance that it would get damaged.

He had no intention of letting it get into harm's way.

He sighed and basked in the comforting feeling and smell for as long as he could before putting the gem away in his bag.

Nor would he let anyone else get harmed. If Angra Mainyu chose to show up here, then Shirou would be ready. His training with Archer ensured it.

"Ahem."

Shirou blinked.

"Good morning, Emiya-san."

Shirou slowly gazed at the entrance of the classroom.

"Good morning, Iida-san," Shirou reciprocated with a soft smile. "I assume you just arrived?"

There was an odd little pause, but Iida nodded.

"Yes. I met a Todoroki and Bakugou along the way, but they appear to be restless," he commented. "I believe that they are still getting warmed up at the training grounds. I aim to join them, would you like to join us?"

Shirou pondered for just a second.

"No, it's fine," Shirou denied. "I'll get in a few stretches before the event. That should be enough."

"Are you sure?" Iida asked with a mildly confused brow. "This is not an event that we should take lightly."

Shirou nodded. It wasn't like his 'quirk' needed any warm up anyway, and he already had his morning exercise so his body was already at its best.

"Yeah, it's fine."

After Iida left, the rest of his classmates trickled in several minutes after. It took several more minutes after that for Aizawa to arrive with Bakugo, Iida, and Todoroki in tow.

They promptly left for the stadium.

* * *

It took them a while but they had all arrived in a changing room, which probably meant that Shirou didn't need to change in the classroom, but he found it was better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.

Their room was simple. There were a few tables and chairs for students to relax in, lockers for every student's valuables – which Shirou used to keep his bag – and a few extra towels folded neatly at the back.

Once everyone changed, there was a moment of restless silence. Most likely that every student here was just a little tense. Shirou wasn't blind, he could see that the event was a big deal and meant a lot to his classmates.

Everyone probably trained hard in the past week, so a little tense silence could be acceptable.

Fortunately, not everyone thought so.

Ashido Mina let out a long and drawn-out sigh, dragging attention in the room. "I wanted to wear to my costume."

To her side, Ojiro Mashirao simply let off a wry smile. "To keep things fair, we really can't."

True, most of the students outside of the hero course didn't have the luxury of a costume.

"I wonder what the first round's going to be…?" Sato voiced out nervously.

Tokoyami Fumikage reclined his avian head and silently hummed. "No matter what comes, we have no choice but to deal with it."

"Right," Mezo Shoji agreed to his side–

The door opened up abruptly.

"Everyone! Are you ready!?" Iida Tenya called out. "We will be entering the venue soon!"

It seemed like the nervous tension, which was slowly being worked out, returned with a vengeance. He eyed a couple of his classmates taking a few calming breaths to cool their furiously pumping blood.

Adrenaline was slowly starting to pump in all of their veins, and they haven't even heard of the first round yet.

"Midoriya."

 _Todoroki?_

"Todoroki? What is it?" Midoriya asked.

Shirou blinked as their heterochromia classmate walked up to the nervous teen. Although, he appeared far more confused than nervous. Midoriya didn't seem to know why Todoroki called him out.

To be frank, no one around them did either.

Several students, all who had been content to reign in their nervous selves, broke stride to gaze towards the two of them, who had now become the center of attention.

"Looking at things objectively," Todoroki started. "I think I'm stronger than you."

Now, Shirou was incredibly confused.

 _Where was this going?_

Midoriya let off a sound of minor confusion but agreed with a slow nod.

"But… All-Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?" He added on as Midoriya flinched in response. "I'm not trying to pry about that…" His eyes narrowed. "… but I'm going to beat you."

"Oh? Is the best in class making a declaration of war?" Kaminari teased.

He failed to notice the atmosphere. Then again, from where was sat, he wouldn't be able to see the eyes narrowed in determination. Grim determination.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kirishima called out. He had gotten out of his seat and laid a hand on Todoroki's shoulder. "Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? Not now, we're about to start!"

Todoroki's shoved his hand off.

"We're not here to play at being friends," he declared as he turned to walk away. "So what does it matter?"

As he walked away, he stopped beside Shirou's table.

"And I haven't forgotten about you, Emiya."

Shirou blinked in subtle surprise.

"I'm not blind," Todoroki reminded. Although, his tone seemed a tad bit irritated. "I've seen the way that Aizawa-sensei acts around you. It's almost as if the two of you have some history," he narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to beat you too… and prove that you were wrong."

" _... You don't see anything wrong with this? Don't you know that killing is wrong? That's not the job of a hero."_

Ah… so he was talking about that. It had been a week so Shirou almost forgot. Admittedly, he shouldn't have forgotten, but between training with Archer and preparing for Avenger, it was pretty low on the totem pole of priorities.

Shirou still found it odd that Todoroki wanted to specifically beat him too. What purpose would it serve? In the first place, Shirou sort of agreed with him. Killing, in general, was wrong and it should be avoided.

He definitely needed to tell Todoroki about how the Nomu was still technically alive. Maybe make something else up like how going for its heart didn't kill him but stopped further regeneration. He could bring up Tsukauchi as proof–

"Todoroki."

Shirou watched as he turned back to Midoriya.

"I don't know what you're thinking when you say that you'll beat me, and I don't know what business you and Emiya-san have, but of course you're better than me," Midoriya admitted. "I think you're more capable than most people, especially considering how you managed to help protect us at USJ. Looking at it objectively…"

Kirishima flinched out of everyone's notice but played it off quickly and raised his hands in placation. "Midoriya, you probably shouldn't…"

"But, everyone–" The nervous teen continued with clenched fists. "–Our peers in Class 1-B and everyone from the other courses, are aiming for the top with everything they've got!"

His fists lowered.

"… I can't afford to fall behind," Midoriya said as his head slowly rose. "I'll be going for it with everything I have, too."

Todoroki simply gazed at him and made a sound of confirmation.

It was likely he wanted Midoriya to be at his best for when he would beat him. If, he would beat him. Shirou always knew that nothing was ever quite as simple.

A fire was lit within the teen, and it spread to all in the class…

All, except for Emiya Shirou.

* * *

The stalls were loud and the people within them even louder.

A few curious eyes were drawn towards him, but he took it in stride. He ignored it in favor of the bag in his hands. It jingled a little as the trinkets within collided with one another, but it wasn't loud enough to break past the background noise…

… but that didn't mean that he _wasn't_ nervous.

"We don't really need you today, so you can relax for now."

Yarikaze Sasori simply waded through the crowd.

Someone like him, big, tall, lanky, and above all, menacing. Once or twice, a few professional heroes called him over in concern, but he had managed to convince them all that he wasn't a villain.

At least, not anymore.

A lot had happened in the few months since his short jail time, like getting a huge scar on his forehead. His new 'boss' paid his bail and surgery bill so he wouldn't be spending ten years in prison. It was honestly amazing how much money could change things.

He wasn't a small-time crook running it in with the bigger gangs. He had stable income now, a way to provide for himself and perhaps his daughter…

No… that was just a dream. A beautiful dream, but a dream nonetheless.

He wouldn't be able to take care of her, even if he had all the money in the world. Taking her away from her new, and frankly better, foster parents was a crime even he wouldn't want to stoop to performing.

She was happier away from him, even if she didn't know it.

Besides, his newer 'job' was technically just as dangerous as his old one. It treads the line between the law, but he still had power in court nonetheless.

At least that he wasn't wearing that weird plague-doctors mask today. Chisaki, or at least that was what Sasori thought his name was, said that it would bring undue attention towards themselves if he did. He also said that it wasn't time yet and that they would have to be patient.

Not that he was complaining, that thing got stuffy if it wasn't cleaned every week. He did with it covered his scar though.

It was a shame that his other colleague, that drunkard Sakaki Deidoro, wouldn't be able to come here. The event had a ban on alcoholic drinks, and with the man's need for the beverage, he wouldn't even think of coming here.

Was there anyone else he could've invited to come here…?

No, there wasn't. As much as he would like to say he liked his new financially stable situation, he didn't really like his boss or his colleagues – the drunkard excluded.

They always talked about purifying the world, not that he Sasori generally cared… but it had some merit.

His gigantic scorpion tale twitched, admittedly scaring a few people away and causing a few babies to tear up.

If he could get rid of this tail, then he would be able to find a better job and create a better life.

Self-mutilation was impossible too, as morally gray as that sounded. He heard of a news anchor who did the same to a horn of his to make himself seem less threatening on air, but Sasori didn't have the leisure.

His tail was apart of his spinal cord, meaning that if he cut it off, then he'd be paralyzed from the waist down for life. Not many jobs can be found when crippled, especially if you were someone who had a criminal record like him.

It didn't help that he was also huge, buff, and had a menacing scar on his forehead. It just added to the fact that everyone saw him as a villain.

His daughter would probably look at him like one too.

That did beg the question though, why was he here in the first place? Why was he in a venue with so many professional heroes? Continually asking himself that question told him that part of the reason was that he was nostalgic.

He had been to a hero course once, dreamed of it even when he was a kid, but he ultimately failed to make any strides. He trained as a kid, but it just made him look like a villain.

He let out a long and exasperated sigh.

There was no point in thinking of the past.

He made his way to a stall, opening his wallet and paying for a bit of tamagoyaki, and quickly making his way out before anyone else got unnerved.

Maybe he shouldn't have even come here.

" _Hey! Pay attention, audience! Swarm, mass media! This year's high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the U.A. sports festival, is about to begin! Everybody, are you ready!?"_ Shouted out the voice of a vaguely familiar hero from the stereo. _"It's time for the students to enter the first-year stage!"_

The sound of applause dragged his attention to the gigantic television screen beside the stadium, where first-year students made their way out–

His eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that…?" He muttered.

It was.

It was the kid who beat him up so hard that he needed surgery to even stand up straight again.

The same one who gave him his scar.

"Well, I'll be…" He muttered. He expected to feel rage or possibly even indignation, but there was just an emptiness followed by a mirthless chuckle of self-depreciation.

He supposed that it was fitting, that the kid who beat up a _villain_ like him would want to become a hero.

That was how the world worked, after all.

* * *

Emiya Shirou didn't really know what he expected when he walked into the venue, but the thunderous applause was definitely one of them.

" _The U.A. sports festival! The huge battle where fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year!"_ Present Mic's ever familiar voice echoed out. _"Anyway, these are the guys, right? The miraculous new students who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! Hero course, Class 1-A, right!?"_

He just didn't expect the applause to be this thunderous.

"T-There's so many people…" Midoriya muttered as all the previous bravado from the waiting room faded like the wind. He was pretty hard for Shirou to hear with all the applause.

"Will we be able to give our best performance while being watched by so many people?" Iida offered his own thoughts. "This is also part of the training required to become a hero."

 _Was it really though?_

Shirou supposed he could see it. There had been numerous times where heroes had to make public appearances in audience halls, this was probably just a taste of it.

After all, a public appearance was how he first met All-Might.

"Man, he's going overboard with that praise!" Kirishima said out loud. "I'm getting the shivers! How about you, Bakugo?"

"Nah… I'm just getting more into it," Bakugo blurted out with his usual ferocity. However, it died when he turned his head back towards a certain sword-wielding classmate. "Unlike some people."

" _They haven't been getting as much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Hero course, Class 1-B!"_

From one of the entryways, Shirou could see the familiar students make their way in. Kendou waved towards the crowd and their class by proxy. Monoma strutted his way in, whilst Kodai and Shinso simply made their way in without much fuss.

" _Next up, general studies classes C, D, and E! Support course, classes F, G, and H are here, too!"_ Present Mic shouted out. _"And the business course, classes I, J, and K! All of U.A.'s first years are here now!"_

Emiya Shirou did not pay much attention to the other students. Granted, he gave them all cursory glances but made extra sure to focus on the audience stands.

He would never know when Avenger, or any other villain, would show up. While he had faith in the professional heroes that worked to safeguard the populace, he still held that extra caution. It was better to be safe than to be sorry.

"Time for the player pledge!"

Shirou blinked and focused on the small podium before him– what in the name of all that is sacred is she wearing?

Stockings, check. Belt, check. Skin-tight clothing, check. Corset, check. Choker, check. Mask, check. Handcuffs, check. Tassle, check.

This was a fetish magnet.

 _What._

"What is Ms. Midnight wearing?" Kirishima muttered.

"That's an R-Rated Hero for you," Kaminari added.

"Is it okay for her to be at a high school even though she's R-Rated?" Tokoyami muttered.

"YES, IT IS!" Mineta screamed.

 _R-Rated Hero!? Those exist!?_

"Quiet, everyone!" Midnight shouted from her podium, swinging her tassel-whip combination to draw everyone's attention. "Representing the students is Bakugo Katsuki from Class 1-A!"

Shirou's shock faded as something more professional took its place.

 _Ah, so it was time for the speech._

In contrast to his own reaction, everyone seemed to be widening their eyes in surprise. Bakugo, however, took it in stride and simply walked along to the podium.

"What? It's Kacchan?" Midoriya muttered loudly in confusion.

Sero chuckled wearily. "That guy did end up being tied first in the entrance exam…"

A girl, from the people around her it looks like she was from the general course, sighed loudly. "In the hero course, of course," She corrected.

Midoriya wilted. "R-Right…"

"It's obvious that she hates us," Sero muttered back.

Kaminari leered. "And it's all Bakugo's fault, isn't it?"

This time, a surprising voice spoke out.

"Even so, he still managed to tie in first," the voice reminded. "Be it business, general, or support, obtaining the title of 'first' is a feat to be commended, not shunned. It speaks of the determination and effort to reach that zenith."

 _Shinso?_

The purple haired teen turned his head towards the general course.

"Calm yourselves. We are here to represent U.A. as a whole. What course we belong to is irrelevant," He then turned silent. "That being said, I _do_ understand your frustration. If you truly dislike him, then by all means, push him down during this tournament if you can. Just be prepared to stand in his shoes for if you do."

The general course student seemed to clam up in response. The reddening of her cheeks when she glanced at him was odd though, maybe it was her quirk.

"Big words, Shinso," Monoma commented, but he grimaced as he watched Bakugo get on stage. "Let's just see if he really does deserve respect, though. I'm just surprised that Emiya over here wasn't picked over him."

Kirishima blinked. "Oh yeah, Emiya was tied in first with Bakugo."

"How did Bakugo manage to get the speech?" Kaminari questioned. "The guy's mean and angry as hell while Emiya is like the total opposite."

Shirou found it prudent to speak here.

"I didn't really want to do the speech," Shirou replied. "Bakugo seemed eager so I let him have it."

Midoriya did double-take. "Eh!? You turned it down!?"

"That's such a waste man," Sero commented. "Although it'd be a hard decision to give it up. Bakugo would've probably death-glared anyone else for that position if it weren't you."

"It really wasn't a hard decision, though," Shirou replied back.

Kaminari grimaced. "Just because it wasn't a hard decision doesn't mean it was a smart one. The guy is going to make everyone mad at us!"

 _That… was probably true._

The comment caused talk to cease among the students below, allowing Bakugo to take the reign.

Eyes were all trained on him. The silence was deafening. Everyone awaited what he would say.

"I pledge… That I'll be number one."

Then shit hit the fan.

"What the heck!?"

"Stop messing around!"

"Don't be so full of yourselves, Class A!"

"You piece of–"

"Why are you doing something so disgraceful!?" Iida shouted as his arm moved to that repeated swinging movement.

 _Wonderful–_

"Shut your mouths you damned mob characters!"

Bakugo's bellow of authority struck. The students who raged quelled, but they only did so out of minor curiosity. A few seconds was all it would take for them to rage about once more.

Bakugo did not give them those seconds.

"I'll repeat myself, I pledge that I'll become number one!" He howled to the world. "I don't care who you are, where you're from, or what you are. If you have the guts to become the number one, then go ahead and try! I don't want to be number one if none of you mobs are giving it your best damn shot!"

He raised a fist and slammed it into his palm, creating a minor explosion which the microphone caught, all while a determined and focused expression burrowed onto his face.

"Don't hold back! I ain't gonna wait for you mobs to get your shit together! I'm gonna claw myself to the number one spot, the absolute and irrefutable top!" He pointed to the crowd of students and pointed his thumb down. "The least that all of you can do is become a nice and bouncy step for me to jump off! My victory won't be worth anything if you don't give me your damn best!"

It was audacious.

It was unthinkable to spout something like this before the event.

Yet it was something that everyone in the student crowd needed.

It lit something within them all, and it took a little for Shirou to finally understand what.

"How overconfident can you get…?" Tetsutetsu muttered, fingers twitching in agitation. However, it did not betray the smile worming his way onto his face. "Just wait, I'll be the one to crush you!"

Bakugo had heard.

He grinned.

"Just try it out, you nerds."

With that, he got off the stage, but he was not applauded, nor was he greeted with complaints and retorts of hate. Instead, he was glared at by every single student from the other courses.

He had lit a fire in them all in an attempt to make them all give their best… all the better for him. However, Shirou could not help but notice the fact that Bakugo glared right at him from his podium when he spoke.

" _Don't hold back!"_

… Bakugo wanted his best, didn't he?

With the fact that villains could be watching and waiting for them to show what they can do, showing off your skills to the world was foolish… but it was then that Shirou recalled Archer's words this morning.

"… _Don't do anything I would do."_

Why? Why did he want him to participate as much as he could?

Shirou thought that Archer would understand at least, the thought of keeping things in your sleeve, but why would he push him to give it his all?

All Shirou planned to do was let everyone do their best, seeing as this event meant a lot to them. He was going to work towards being average, just so everyone would do well.

He didn't understand.

"Hey, sword-bastard."

Shirou blinked as Bakugo appeared before him, having just returned from the podium

"Don't you dare fucking hold back on me, got it?"

Shirou only took a second to gaze at him, but the wild blond didn't give him any time to respond as he walked away to his spot in the assembly of students.

"Now, let's get started right away!" Midnight shouted with a smile on her face, hoping to quell the raging fire beneath them. It didn't. "The first game is what you'd call a qualifier! Every year, many drink their tears here. Now, here is the fateful first game!"

In an instant, a holographic screen appeared before her. It displayed a continually spinning yet colorful roulette. Shirou highly doubted that the event was random so this was probably a show-piece to build up anticipation.

"This year it's…" Midnight uttered slowly. The spinning roulette stopped as the words formed on the screen. "… this!"

 _An Obstacle Race._

"All eleven classes will participate in this race. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium, about four kilometers!" She rose her tassel to the sky and licked her lips. "Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do!"

The audience cheered in excitement as a few students around Shirou began hopping in place, trying to warm themselves up.

Shirou took a deep breath.

"Now, take your places, everyone!"

It wasn't a smart decision to give it his all.

They all found themselves in front of a huge archway, rimmed with red steel with three glowing lights above it. They were at a stationary green, but they would change to signal a start.

But if Bakugo wanted him to do his best…

One of the lights flickered off.

… Then Shirou supposed that he could probably do a lot better than he originally intended.

A second light flickered off.

He always had Noble Phantasms as a secret weapon. As long as he didn't use any, it would be fine, right?

The third light flickered off.

" _Good luck and do your best, Shirou!"_

 _Fine._

"Start!"

* * *

Takeyama Yu groaned as she strolled into the venue, head held tall and back set straight. It was kind of hard to do so, seeing as it was almost eight in the morning, but she had learned to stave off the lethargy as much as she could.

Around her, children laughed and played, random adults tried to find something to eat, and several teenagers chatted about with one another. While they did so, each and every one of them ignored her. True, they did give her a glance or two but none of them questioned her presence, but her presence was expected so there wasn't anything odd about it.

After all, today was the first day of the U.A. sports festival, and here she was as a part of the morning security team.

She groaned internally as a stranger wanted to take a picture with her, which she allowed with a big and bright smile. Normally, she wouldn't be so irritated, but the past few days had been… troublesome.

That cafe manager, Farran, was way more than he seemed. He always knew when she was coming, even when she was disguised – which was how she liked to avoid paparazzi – he could sense her from a mile away.

It was almost as if he had eyes on the back of his head… or on every corner of his cafe.

She shook her head and the thought away. It wouldn't do anyone good if a professional hero openly expressed their suspicions in a public setting. If she did that, then the public may end up slandering his cafe with lies and lowering his ratings. He'd lose customers all because a pro-hero said that she didn't trust the owner there.

If Yu was wrong, she would end up ruining the man's career, and subsequently, her reputation. Besides, she had come to like the employees in that cafe.

The Setsuno kid was always jittery but that was due to nervousness. He really didn't want to disappoint his boss, more so out of sheer loyalty than anything else really. That was admirable, to say the least.

Then there was Endeavor's daughter, Fuyumi, who was a wonderful person that Yu simply got along with.

And that was it. Farran had only those two as employees and nobody else, which made it odd that he could keep up a business as busy as his. On an almost daily basis, they worked efficiently and without any detriment to the service if online reviews were anything to go by.

 _Argh!_

She physically forced the thought away by sandwiching her face between her palms. She needed to stay focused. Just because there were professional heroes everywhere didn't mean that villains could appear at any second… _kind of._

"Mount Lady?" She heard from her side. A quick glance showed it was Shinji. "You seem distressed as of late. Perhaps you are anxious about your son?"

Well, that was a good excuse to use. Wouldn't want him to think that Yu was running her brain through the gutter trying to find incriminating evidence on a cafe owner.

That wouldn't really be _hero-like_ , now would it?

"Yeah," Yu lied as naturally as she breathed. "Shirou's been training hard… but I don't think his heart is all that into the tournament in the first place."

"Why not?" He asked as he walked faster to keep pace with her. "Young Shirou seemed to be headstrong in his desire to be a hero? Surely he sees the festival's importance?"

Yu sighed. "You'd think that… but he really doesn't."

As much as Yu loved her adopted son, the kid trained for one reason and one reason alone; to fight against the League of Villains should they appear again. He said that he could've done much better against them before at USJ and wanted to rectify his mistakes.

What mistakes he was talking about, Yu had no idea whatsoever, but she could tell he was pretty serious about it so she kept her mouth shut. She could tell that he was extremely dedicated to the training so she didn't want to say anything that'd hurt that motivation.

He went to that cafe every day, using whatever free time he had ended up with solely to train. To be frank, Yu just couldn't help but be worried about his _zealousness_. However, that cafe owner seemed to berate him every single time he was about to go too far and tear a muscle or something.

Honestly, Shirou looked a lot more open with the cafe owner than he does with her.

Strange, was her chest supposed to feel like shit? Maybe she was just feeling a little bit under the weather.

"Perhaps seeing his performance may brighten up your day," Shinji suggested. He patted her shoulder and gestured her to follow, ignoring the odd stares that the two of them were getting.

When he finally came to a stop, she noticed that they were in a far more busy segment outside the stadium. He pointed upwards to where she was supposed to turn her attention, to the giant television screen showing the festival within.

"Keeping an eye on your son should assuage your worries, no?"

Yu let out a tiny snicker.

"Yeah, it might."

 _Good luck, Shirou._

* * *

The second she had called out for them to start, Shirou had already started running. He didn't bother to listen to her, the very next instant that the light flickered off, Shirou found his legs moving as fast as he could force them to.

He wasn't using reinforcement, yet his body's natural athleticism added with the fact that he had been working on it for the past few months, meant that he was physically stronger and faster than most of his peers.

It was from this head-start, that he could only see a few other students beside him, with the others steadily falling behind… or rather, getting clogged up.

The path was narrow, which meant that it would be hard to push forward had he not been as fast as he was.

This was the first cut off point, those who weren't fast, agile, or lucky enough to make it through it time would never be able to get past the starting point.

Truly, it was good to be healthy and physically fit.

As he was near the front, his ears twitched at the sound of rushing wind from behind him. Strands of hair tingled as a chill reached him, a familiar chill.

 _Todoroki._

Shirou inhaled deeply and braced himself as the rushing force of icy wind hurled him forward out of the narrow gap and onto the now icy covered path. He slipped and slid for just a few seconds.

In front of him, Shirou could see Todoroki running as smooth as if the ice beneath him was concrete.

"Sorry, but…" Todoroki muttered as he looked back.

The ice wouldn't stop him, though.

 _Trace, On._

Shirou held his hand out and jumped forward, lightly armored boots formed around his sneakers. They were spiked underneath due to a bit of Alteration, which gave him enough leverage and ability to maintain a grip on the ice beneath him.

With a grip on the new path, Shirou pushed forth, reinforcing himself ever so slightly so that the weight of the boots did not hamper him down. It was taxing, having to trace it, but Archer had gone through some snowy terrain before on one of his… _jobs_. These boots were something to help him out during those times.

Shirou regulated his breathing.

He heard explosions behind him drawing nearer, which indicated Bakugo getting closer. He was probably using his explosions to fly over the ice, which was incredibly clever.

He wasn't the fastest though. Shirou could see a bundle of body parts flying independently, which faintly reminded him of a Class 1-B student, Monoma. He must've copied a useful quirk.

But with Shirou's initial reinforcement, he was still fast enough to make his way through.

Shirou narrowed his eyes.

He mustn't forget that this was still an obstacle course, which meant…

The familiar sounds of robots moving ahead dragged their attention.

… that there were obstacles.

"Targets found… _Lots_ identified!" Cried out the robotic faux villain.

" _Obstacles have shown up suddenly!"_ Present Mic shouted. _"Starting with the first barrier, Robo Inferno!"_

They brought in the robots from the entrance exam, Terrific. However, that wasn't all. From the looming shadows before them, Shirou could see the easily identifiable zero-point faux villain.

Everyone seemed to pause in their steps, taking in the new obstacles with caution.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Shirou merely sidestepped a villain, noting that the path beneath was no longer icy so he detraced the boots and pushed forth.

He didn't need to trace any weapons right now, so he focused on avoiding each of the miniature robots and rushing towards the gargantuan ones. At this rate, he was going to be able to go right under them–

"So this is what they used in the general entrance exam?" Todoroki muttered from in front of him.

It took a second, but Shirou noticed the ice escaping his right boot. Taking caution as a priority now, Shirou held from running ahead as the ice surged out.

"If they went through all this trouble, I wish they would've prepared something better," Todoroki added.

He grasped the ground as ice coalesced. A zero-pointer raised its giant palm to crush him, but knowing the heterochromia teen, he wouldn't let it.

Shirou didn't hear what he said after, but when he swung his right palm forward, the ice followed it.

It surged like a tidal wave, monumentally encompassing, pushing back against the steel giant, enveloping its entirety before freezing it in place. All within the span of an instant.

All the while Todoroki merely sighed as his frosty breath escaped him.

Shirou would admit, that if he didn't use any noble phantasms, particularly long ranged ones, then he wouldn't be able to deal with that amount of ice. In fact, if it came to a raw battle, Todoroki could win if he chose to go for a high powered attack right from the get-go.

When Todoroki got up and ran underneath it, Shirou followed suit without pause.

"He stopped them!"

"Between their legs! We can get through!"

The others behind him took a few seconds to do the same, but Todoroki said otherwise.

"I wouldn't if I were you! I froze them when they were unbalanced" Todoroki shouted back as the titanic machine slowly fell forward. "They'll fall over!"

When the impact cleared, a huge dust cloud took over, covering their sight.

" _Todoroki from Class 1-A!"_ Present Mic's voice bellowed from unseen speakers. _"He attacked and defended in one hit! How elegant! Amazing, he's the first one to get through! It's, you know, practically unfair!"_

" _His actions are logical and strategic,"_ Aizawa commented. Wait, Aizawa was a commentator? _"Besides… he isn't alone."_

" _As expected of someone who got in through recommendations! He'd never fought them before but those Robo Infernos couldn't get past his elite moves!"_ Present Mic shouted. _"And of course, a student who reacted quickly followed him! Fellow class 1-A student and tied in the entrance exams with first-year speaker, Bakugo Katsuki, Emiya Shirou!"_

Shirou sighed as the cloud cleared.

He just had to draw attention to himself, didn't he?

Before they impacted the ground, Shirou reinforced his body ever so slightly more. In an effort to conserve prana, he was only barely able to make it under the faux villains.

Instincts screamed at him to turn back and check if anyone was hurt, but this was a public event with medical staff lurking in every corner – if the shadows in the trees were what Shirou thought them to be – so if someone was injured, then a professional would be able to make it in time.

It still felt _wrong_ though.

"You ran under the falling robots, didn't you? Are you insane?"

Shirou blinked as he heard Todoroki call from upfront. He noticed the inquisitive look in the heterochromia teen's eyes fade into an irritated frown.

Shirou returned with a wry smile.

Seriously, as soon as both he and Todoroki some time to spare, Shirou would need to tell him that the villain – Shirou still thought of it as a monster or a pseudo-chimera – was still technically alive.

Maybe after that, Todoroki would be a little less irritated with him.

Shirou understood, he really did. Killing, the act of it, was inherently wrong no matter what anyone says and an alternative should always be sought after… but it needs to be taken when there is no alternative.

Shirou wanted to save everyone, but he wasn't dumb enough to believe that he could. If he did, then someday he'd be broken like Archer… but he'd still want to save everyone he could see before him.

He wanted to become a hero, after all.

"You weren't this fast before… you held back in the long-distance run with Aizawa, didn't you?" Todoroki accused as ice formed under his feet. "If you held back, then you can probably handle this, can't you?"

Ice blasted towards him, forcing him to shield his eyes and halt his footsteps.

When Shirou came to, Todoroki was much farther ahead, with his arms almost frozen.

 _Well played, Todoroki…_

Shirou shook his hands and got rid of the melting ice. He took a deep breath once more and pushed forward.

… _but if you use your ability this much, then you'll gradually get tired. This is an obstacle course that doubles as an endurance run._

Shirou didn't bother to use prana to reinforce himself this time. Instead, he simply ran as fast as he could while maintaining even breathing. It's the simple things that work the best, sometimes.

He didn't even display much of what he could do, which was good.

There was still much more to this obstacle course, and Shirou knew that if he held back here, it was going to be a benefit for when he dealt with the upcoming obstacles.

Bakugo wanted him to do his best, Todoroki did, Yu did, and even Archer did.

 _Why?_

Shirou would probably never understand, but he did know one thing.

He would do his 'best' _without Noble Phantasms_.

Reinforcement, at measured levels, was fine.

Hopefully, that would satisfy them.

 _Now if Bakugo could stop screaming from above, that'd be great._

* * *

"Did you see that!?"

"Yes, yes I did, but you need to calm down Yu!"

Takeyama Yu did not calm down. Her arm was still wrapped around Shinji's wooden head and still painfully squeezing down in excitement.

In her defense, her beating heart and gleeful joy shut out most of his words. She could even hear the thunderous applause from the stadium from here, she could be forgiven for not calming down as much as he'd like.

She hadn't expected Shirou to _actually try_ out there. Actually, she could safely say that everybody who knew what he was like, were completely surprised at the turn of events.

He always treated this event with indifference, like it didn't really matter in the long run. If Shirou treated such a prestigious event like that, then Yu guessed that he would probably end up like Aizawa in the work department, dealing with villains at night.

Yu didn't feel like she liked that particular idea.

She shook her head and cleared her thoughts, focusing only on the obstacle race before her. She was _still_ surprised at how well Shirou was doing.

Granted, he wasn't first place or anything absurd like that. His quirk made things – mostly swords but he could make other weaponry – and Yu didn't know how that could really keep up with some students with literal engines in their shins… or like that Bakugo kid, who was constantly blasting away at full gear like a rocket. He didn't really look like he'd slow down any time soon, too.

With that in mind, it sort of made sense that he was probably close to third right now. The Bakugo kid overtook him a while ago and Endeavor's kid was far ahead than everyone else.

At the steady pace that Shirou was going, which was honestly faster than how most of the other students were running, he'd probably retain that position… as long as there weren't any obstacles that his quirk wouldn't be able to help out with.

 _But damn~ how could he keep up with those kids?_

It must've been all that exercise he's been doing every day. Sometimes, he even woke her up in the morning with all the grunting he'd do in the morning.

Although, she'd admit that she thought the 'grunting' was from something else entirely… if Shirou was anyone but Shirou.

He was the type of kid that' much rather train than play video games, the type to watch the news instead of cartoons or to cook a dish rather than be served a dish. Sometimes, it felt like she was living with an old man instead of a child.

Her kid was _weird_ sometimes.

"Well, if you're so chipper then can I assume that you are no longer worried?" Shinji asked as he finally wrenched his head free.

Yu shook her head, her heart rate finally slowing itself down. "I'm still kind of on the fence about it, but if he's doing this well, then I'm not that worried."

"Then, shall we continue with our patrols?" Shinji asked, but he paused for a moment. "Of course, we shall remain nearby to gaze at the obstacle race."

"Seems alright to me," Yu said with a nod. "Come on, I heard that the Takoyaki stands were popular right now, but I don't want any green seaweed on mine though."

"… We are still patrolling, Yu."

His reminder fell upon deaf ears.

Even though Yu said she wasn't, she was still very, very worried.

She had a feeling in her gut. She didn't know what that feeling was, but whatever it was she'd figure it out sooner or later.

Hopefully, before whatever it was would happen.

A little stress eating could be forgiven until then, right?

* * *

 **A/N: The oddest thing when writing this chapter was how hard it was during the race segment.**

 **For a visual medium like anime or manga, it's pretty easy to showcase what's going on. However, for a literary medium like this, it was challenging to even try to include others while maintaining the Emiya Shirou POV. It would've been far too unnecessary to add reactions of everyone around him during the race itself.**

 **Oh yeah, the chapter ends here, just like the anime episode so that's nice. I didn't want to make it longer because I feel like it'd split the focus of the chapter. This is meant to focus on characters pre-obstacle race, not during it.**

 **Another heads up, the sports festival arc is less on the festival and more on characters, which I believe I mentioned before but I'm just reiterating here.**

 **Other news, Babylon anime is coming late 2019, El-Melloi Case Files are somewhere in mid-2019, and the new F/GO event is eating my time. I've stayed up till 3 AM just farming for EXP cards.**

 **Yes, I rolled Kama (Dark Sakura). It took 60 SQ and 1 ticket. I got her from the ticket. _Now I need to raise her and do the event for fuck's sake why do I do this to myself._**

 **With all that out of the way, I'll ask for the usual. Review if you found something grammatically wrong, error in the continuity, or if something is just bothering you. I've corrected errors in the past, so don't hesitate to do so.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Thanks to a guest reviewer's concerns, I looked into how long a marathon actually is. If you didn't know, it's usually at least** **ten times longer than four kilometers. So... I'm going to go back and erase mentions of a marathon. Whoopsie.**


	25. Chapter 24 - A Measured Sword

**Chapter 24**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

Yaoyorozu was a smart girl, someone who would always get a perfect grade in whatever subject she was studying.

Some labeled her a prodigy, even more of them had called her a genius, but as much as she liked to believe that, Yaoyorozu knew the truth.

Ever since she had faced Emiya Shirou in that training exercise several days ago, she knew the difference between what she was and the touted 'genius' her old peers all thought that she was.

A genius was someone who was above their peers by a substantial degree, one who was awed from a distance by those who could not compete.

A genius was someone whose peers could only compete against them through sheer effort, determination, and hard work – enough so that it'd make the genius' efforts utterly pale in comparison – all in order to catch up to him.

Perhaps in the past, they were correct. Yaoyorozu could certainly be called a genius… but what happens to a genius when they were surpassed?

"–followed him! Fellow class 1-A student and tied in the entrance exams with the first-year speaker, Bakugo Katsuki, Emiya Shirou!"

Yaoyorozu was a genius before, but she was far from being called one now. Now, she was the one who had to work hard to catch up.

The frozen towering machines came tumbling down like overgrown paperweights, creating enough panic below it that the other students ahead of her had to scramble to get away.

She was the biggest fish in her pond, but now that wasn't so. There were others who were ready to usurp her place should she be lax, and those who had already usurped her.

The current first-place in the obstacle course, Todoroki Shoto, and the second, Emiya Shirou.

Out of all their peers, they had clawed their way to the top, including herself. Granted, it was a race so her own quirk wasn't going to be much help on the physical side of things, but it was still somewhat frustrating to see how far away they were.

When she stared at their swiftly advancing forms, with a palace of ice collapsing behind them, she could only stare in reluctant awe.

It was like their backs carried something more than her, but she didn't know what it was.

That thought made her feel… something.

She shook the distracting thoughts away and focused on the objective, namely getting around or through the gigantic lumbering machinery before her. Perhaps she could try run around beneath their legs?

No, that wouldn't work. Yaoyorozu wasn't physically weak or anything, in fact, she was one of the fittest in her age bracket. She'd need to be if she wanted to sustain her quirk, especially since it consumed her lipids every time she used it.

 _Which means I shouldn't use my quirk as much. There are still two more events after this race, after all._

However, even with a healthy body, she wouldn't be able to run fast enough under those robots. She didn't even know how Emiya managed to do it, seeing as he had a somewhat similar quirk to her.

As the other students were figuring out how to get past the robots, and the subsequent wreckage that Todoroki had left behind, Yaoyorozu considered her own idea.

It'd open up a way for others, but she didn't have any other way through subtly.

She'd have to force her way through.

Yaoyorozu preemptively tried to use her quirk but instantly noticed something wrong, which she rectified quickly.

She wouldn't be able to create what she wanted with her clothing in the way. Tearing it open from the front seemed prudent.

"Yaomomo!" She heard Jiro shout in what sounded like aghast horror. "What're you doing!? Put your shirt back on!"

Still concentrating on what she'd be creating, Yaoyorozu spared but a single hand for a reassuring thumbs up.

"Don't worry, I still have my underwear on!"

"That's not the problem here!"

A sudden burst of metal from the wreckage in front of them dragged their attention. Tetsutetsu from Class-1B burst out of the heap of wrecked steel and said some words. He wasn't close enough for Yaoyorozu to hear.

Coincidentally, Kirishima had also burst from the wreckage earlier. They were both making their way over the robots manually, with no fear of getting crushed by them.

"–RAAHH!"

Yaoyorozu's concentration lapsed for a split second as she saw the explosions leading up and above the machinery, most likely from Bakugo torpedoing himself past the obstacle.

She saw her other classmates, and some from Class-1B, start to make their own way through the obstacle. Compared to the vast majority of them, she was behind.

What happens when a genius was surpassed?

What happens when they were left behind by those who worked a hundred or a thousand times harder?

The moment Yaoyorozu finished creating her object, she used it.

The sound of a 'Mortar's' cannon fire impacted a nearby giant, blasting its head back as if it was a mere toy. It cleared the way for a bit, but there were more giant machines behind it.

 _Not enough._

She fired another shot, and another, and another.

 _Not enough!_

When she fired the last mortar shot, a path had been cleared for her – and unfortunately others – to use.

When a genius is surpassed, all they need to do to get back their position… is do the same.

Work.

 _Hard_.

"Piece of cake."

Those words slipped through her mouth before she could catch herself, but ultimately it meant nothing.

Before her peers could realize what happened, Yaoyorozu put her feet into motion and rushed past them, past the students standing in wonder and awe, and past the crumbling giants from her onslaught.

A genius is someone who is awed at from a distance by those who could not compete…

"Thank you, Yaoyorozu-san!"

"Nice job, Yaomomo!"

A rushing Iida Tenya and Kyoka Jiro made their way past her.

"Thank you, Class A!"

"An opportunity beckons me!"

The copy-quirk user who was her ally once glided past her whilst merged to the scorched-black floor, followed by a tuft of white hair and inky black skin.

"Thanks!"

"See ya later, Momo!"

Sato Rikido rand and Ashido Mina slid farther away from her.

"Hello, and farewell."

The mind-controller rushed past her on the back of her once-enemy and likely mentally captured peer, Shishida Jurota.

Now, however, there were others who could compete.

She needed to work harder. Hard enough to catch up to them – the ones who stand at the zenith.

 _Don't wait for me, Todoroki, Bakugo, Emiya. I'll catch up to you all soon!_

* * *

Shirou inhaled carefully, regulating his breath, and exhaled shortly after.

Trying to run over the trail of ice before him was a task that Shirou never thought he'd ever thought that he'd be doing in his lifetime, but here he was, using another pair of traced boots to run across it.

Even though Todoroki was ahead of him, he was technically still in the top three students for the obstacle course, at least for now. There was no telling when a student would end up passing him by, especially considering Shirou was only using the bare minimum of reinforcement for the course.

There wasn't any point in using his reinforcement to the fullest. Shirou still didn't believe that there was any reason to give it his utter best.

Bakugo had long since passed him by, screaming his usual profanities as he did so. That had been a minute or two ago, yet Shirou knew he was still keeping pace with the explosive teen.

He could still hear his classmate, screaming after all.

Deciding to take a peek back at the towering robots behind him, he found that they began falling over. Their heads caving in as if something had impacted them, most likely a cannonball.

Either it was someone with suitable quirk, or it was Yaoyorozu. She could probably make something to take them down.

" _Hey, hey! The first obstacle's a piece of cake?"_ Present-Mic's echoing voice arose. _"Then what about the second?"_

In less than a second after the announcement, Shirou saw it.

A ravine filled with differently shaped pillars of stone, each with loosely hanging ropes in between them.

" _If you fall, you're out! If you don't wanna fall, then crawl!"_ He bellowed. _"It's 'The Fall!'"_

Shirou frowned, noticing Todoroki's ice trail had faded away already and promptly detraced his boots.

Isn't this a bit too dangerous? What if someone fell down there!?

Shirou took a peek below, but all he could see was pitch black in an endless cascade of darkness. Using reinforcement on his eyes, which was reckless and he knew it, he managed to see that there was a large rubber net below that would catch them if they did fall.

With that worry out of the way, the third-rate magus mentally addressed the situation.

Getting through this obstacle as fast as possible would be a good idea, but taking the loosely hanging ropes would undoubtedly be the slowest route.

Bakugo was already flying over it, and Todoroki was freezing over some of the rope and sliding his way forth. Between him, the third place in the race so far, and the top two, the distance was quite large.

Luckily for Shirou, the distance between the ravine pillars wasn't that large in some areas.

Before anyone else arrived, Shirou traced a simple spear and ran straight ahead.

It's been a while since the last time he tried pole vaulting.

Before he reached the end of the platform, he jabbed the spear into the ground, which bent it into an odd arc, and leaped into the sky. With his minor reinforcement, he was able to traverse the distance quite easily.

He didn't waste any time landing on the closest platform, rolling forward instead of landing on his feet, and tracing another spear.

" _And now, the leader of the pack is easily getting through first!"_

Todoroki already finished, which meant Bakugo was close to doing so too.

If Shirou kept this pole vaulting up, then he'd reach the other side at an alright pace. He could've simply reinforced further and leap the distance without the need of the pole but that wouldn't be right.

Also, he couldn't really feasibly explain some of the resulting superhuman movement with a sword creating quirk. Any reasoning he'd have would be quite a stretch.

By the time he was across, he saw the other students finally arriving at the very start of 'The Fall' platform.

Asui Tsuyu was already climbing her way through, alongside a slew of other students who were making their own unique ways across. Shirou was even sure that a girl with vines for hair – Ibara Shiozaki if he recalled correctly – was making her own path whilst shaking off anyone who latched on.

Everyone was trying their best, that was good.

" _The lead pack is a step ahead, but below them, everyone's clumped together!"_ Present-Mic shouted. _"They haven't announced how many people will make it through, so you can't relax! Push forward!"_

Deciding to waste no more time, Shirou pushed on forth the path and climbed a set of red stairs before him. The third obstacle was basically on the horizon.

-0-0-0-

"Did you see that!?" Yu shouted as she latched onto Shinji's back, which looked more like she was choking the life out of him. "He just vaulted over the ravine! I mean, I can do the same with my quirk, but _did you see that!?_ "

"Yes, yes I did, Yu! Now can you stop choking me!"

Scratch that, she was actually choking the life out of him.

Takeyama Yu complied and let Nishiya Shinji go, much to the wood-quirk user's appreciation.

"Your son is certainly doing well," Shinji decided to comment after regaining his breath. "Being consistently third out of all of those participants is not an easy feat to achieve."

"I know right?" Yu cheered. However, the smile on her face dropped as she sighed. She turned back to the screen with a look of conflict as she ate a ball of Takoyaki.

"Still 'on the fence'?"

"Yeap," Yu replied. "The weird thing is that I don't see anything wrong, but I'm still worried deep down. Weird, right?"

Shinji decidedly shook his head in disagreement. "Although it may seem that way, it is alright for you to be worried. It is something that all parents go through, or at least it is from what I observed. Even if they are in the safest place in the world, a mother will worry."

"… Those are some smooth words, wood-boy," Yu playfully jabbed. "You get all the single-mothers like that?"

"N-No! I would never–!"

Yu just laughed louder. "I'm just screwing around! No need to get your panties in a twist."

… _but thanks anyway._

As Shinji calmed himself down, Yu turned back to the race.

Shirou was still running – no surprise there – but there were others behind him who were quickly catching up.

She wasn't going to be hard on him if he didn't get a good spot on the leader boards, but his quirk wouldn't be able to help here anyway. She was just surprised that he was close to the number one position for so long.

Maybe she'd treat him to some Takoyaki later, that'd be good. It'd be a nice reward, and not just because there was a chance that he could find out how to make a better version.

Yeap, no ulterior motive here folks.

"… Farran-san! Look how well Shoto's doing!"

"I see it, Todoroki. You don't have to shout."

"I-I was just making sure you heard! There's a lot of people around here."

… and she was just starting to get into a good mood too.

She couldn't stop her head from pivoting behind her. In doing so, Shinji followed suit and caught the sight of a wonderfully familiar waitress in a jacket and an equally familiar yet not as wonderful cafe owner in his usual garb.

"We need a place with a good view… Oh wait, look! It's Takeyama-san, let's go say hi! Maybe they'll let us watch with them!"

Farran sighed and nodded in reluctance. "As you wish."

"Greetings, Todoroki and Farran," Shinji started as they approached. Which was good, seeing as Yu would've only greeted one of them. "What brings you two here? I had thought that you would be busy managing your cafe."

 _Hmm._

"Yeah, that _is_ kinda weird," Yu pointed out.

"With all the people here, there's hardly any point," Farran coolly stated, sighing to himself somewhat. "Most of our regulars opted to see the venues here, along with the U.A. sports festival of course. We get occasional customers but Setsuno should be able to handle the small amount just fine."

"No, I meant that it's weird that _you'd_ be here," Yu emphasized. There was a difference.

He rose a brow. "And you've apparently known me long enough to know that? Color me surprised."

If she wasn't a Professional Hero, she'd probably try to sock him. There's a reason it's called 'Professional'.

Still tempting though.

"I suppose you could humor her?" Shinji tried to placate. "She does have a point. I do not see much reason for someone such as yourself to be here."

Thanks, Shinji.

"I invited him!" Fuyumi called out. "I wanted to see Shoto in the tournament and asked for a leave, but I thought that Farran-san would've been bored so I asked him to come."

"I would've been perfectly fine tending to the cafe, Todoroki," the tanned man murmured. "I still don't know why even Setsuno thought it was a good idea."

"You've been working too much! Every day on my shift, you're always working." Fuyumi pushed. "You need to take a break every once in a while. Working too much isn't good for you."

That was the same argument that her secretary liked to use. Yu momentarily frowned at the thought of a mountain of paperwork slowly growing. Maybe she could sympathize with him for just a little…

Nah, no way, no way in hell. Not even if All-Might asked– _begged_ her to on his meaty knees.

Yu trusted this guy as much as far as she could throw a whole mountain, which was an inch or two. She trusted him enough to train Shirou, but she wasn't going to completely trust him at all. Not one bit.

If even _Aizawa_ , of all people, thought of the tanned cafe owner as someone to be wary about, then she was going to damn well be wary of him!

Not openly of course – which she admittedly failed somewhat here – because that'd be a surefire way to end her career. She could see the headlines now, _'Pro-Hero bullies poor cafe owner'_.

 _Yeah, not worth it._

"Landmines…?" Fuyumi muttered. "That's kinda dangerous, right?"

Yu blinked and refocused on the screen. There was a lot she missed out from her inner deliberations.

"Shoto's taking it slow here," Fuyumi added with a murmur. "I wonder why?"

"Rushing forward without caution would likely be detrimental. He's thinking with a calm and rational mind. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"But… Shoto has his ice," Fuyumi said as she put out a good point.

"He's likely conserving his power. Using it here when it could be avoided would be a waste. There are still two more events directly after this."

Yu blinked as she heard the answer.

 _That didn't come from Shinji._

She turned to Archer with a raised brow. "Coming from a cafe owner, that was surprisingly detailed."

Farran huffed in dismissal. "Anyone would've made that observation."

Yu inwardly narrowed her eyes.

True, it was. However, most would only say that with some hesitation.

Farran said it with clear-cut confidence.

If even the Todoroki's sister wasn't sure of her brother's reasoning, and she was raised alongside the kid, then why would he be?

There could be a lot of reasons. It could be that Farran was just really confident… or he had enough battle-experience to say that. His civilian record files were on lockdown by Endeavor himself, which could mean that Farran was a high priority target of protection… or observation.

It was a stretch – okay a huge stretch – but Yu was still somewhat confident in the observation. The observation that Farran's files were 'protected' only because he could be dangerous.

She needed more to reinforce the idea.

"What about that Bakugo kid?" Yu prodded as nonchalant as she could. "What do you think of him?"

Farran shrugged in faint dismissal, likely seeing no harm in answering the question. "That kid's competitive, if his speech at the start was anything to go by. He's likely the type to try be the first in everything he does."

 _Not enough._

"What about his quirk? It's pretty strong, right?"

He furrowed his brow and shrugged.

"True. His quirk packs a lot of raw fire-power, but he seems to lack finesse in some areas. With how much he's using his quirk, you'd think he could use it endlessly, but if that was so then he'd be using it every second instead of every few seconds. His quirk might have a cooldown period or he's limiting himself so that he doesn't overexert his quirk. It'd be similar to an athlete holding back from tearing a muscle in a race." He turned to his companion slightly. "Todoroki, there's always a tournament-style battle at the end, right? Your brother could probably beat him thereby making him overexert or by creating a situation where his firepower would backfire against him. Freezing all his limbs except his hands would make him nothing but an explosive paperweight, assuming its just his hands that allow him to create explosions."

… Yeah, he's only reinforcing the idea.

If these were the kinds of thoughts he was having, identifying weaknesses in someone's quirk and thinking of ways to exploit it, then there was no way he was an average Joe.

Shinji and Todoroki Fuyumi didn't see that, they only applauded the analysis.

There was no way that his records were being protected by Endeavor because he needed to be protected.

They were 'protected' because Endeavor wanted to keep an eye on him personally.

Yu decided to not focus on the silver-haired tan cafe owner for now. Her precious Shirou was busy out in the field.

It was her duty to keep an eye on her son… and on Farran.

* * *

Whilst running along the beaten path, Shirou noted that couldn't hear Bakugo anymore so that either meant that the explosive teen was quite far ahead or he just stopped screaming.

"And now, we've quickly arrived at the final barrier!" Present-Mic called out once more. "The reality here is… that it's a minefield!"

 _What?_

" _It's set up so that you can tell where the mines are if you look carefully! So you have to exploit your eyes and legs!"_

 _Isn't that too dangerous!? There's a lot that can go wrong there!_

" _By the way, these landmines are for games, so they're not that powerful, but they're loud and flashy enough to make you wet your pants!"_

" _That depends on the person."_ Came Aizawa's muffled voice.

Shirou didn't even see the stage yet, Todoroki was certainly fast.

"Emiya, on your left,"

Shirou blinked as he saw Shinso running past him atop another student, which seemed to be Shishida by the look the fur.

"I'll be going ahead," He added with a slight, non-aggravating smirk.

Shirou didn't frown and kept his pace, albeit speeding up slightly. It did nothing to help him follow the rushing form of Class-B's bestial student, but it alleviated it somewhat.

By the time Shirou reached the third obstacle, he saw Shishida get blown away by a flashy explosion as Shinso leaped off of him.

"Right," Shinso muttered. "Lots of mines, Shishida can't get through very easily…"

Shirou took a glance and saw Shishida steadily getting up, shaking his head as if finally waking up from a stupor. "Oi, Shinso! You mind-controlled me, didn't you!?"

Shinso shrugged. "Guilty as charged. It didn't do much, everyone else is already here."

Shirou took a step to the side as another student ran past him, only to trigger a landmine and get blasted back where he came from.

"Looks like we'll need to go slow and steady here…" Monoma muttered as he arrived behind them, strangely coming out of the shadows like it was liquid. "Can't use Kuroiro's quirk here, what a shame."

Said Kuroiro, who seemed to be a Class-B teen that had extremely black skin – like the color of squid ink – and pastel hair, came out of the same shadow, with much more ease than Monoma, and groaned in exasperation. "Can't go around the minefield either."

"Ibara is almost here," Monoma thought aloud. "Maybe I'll just use her quirk when she gets here, or Honenuki's. They'd be perfect for this."

Shinso hummed, mostly thinking along the lines of something similar, except with replacing the _'copy'_ parts with _'mind-control'_. He'd still need to bait out a response from them.

Shirou, on the other hand, watched the minefield carefully.

There was no pattern in which the mines were placed, but as people got closer to the end, there were more explosions. This could mean that the minefield was more concentrated at the end, even Todoroki was taking it slow and tiptoeing around.

Oh, wait a moment. Bakugo ran and decided to have a fight with him.

As questionable as that decision was, at least they're both preoccupied now.

Shirou sighed in silent contemplation. Getting through this minefield was going to be a bit troublesome, but he could definitely do it.

The red-haired magus concentrated to flow his prana and added reinforcement to his eyes once more. There was one way he'd be getting through without triggering the mines…

Shirou ran forward, much to the surprise of the peers who waited behind him, and observed the floor before him.

" _What's this!?"_ Present-Mic called in surprise.

All the other students were taking their time, slowly making their way past the obstacle like snails in a garden, yet the teen ran at full speed. In any second they could expect a cacophony of explosions to trigger and blow him away.

Yet it didn't.

Instead, every step he took triggered nothing. He wasn't going in a straight line, the path taken was closer to a crooked branch, but even so, the pace was a hundred times better than the pace that the other students had.

At his speed, one would think that he would inevitably step on a mine and reduce his progress significantly, but there was enough space between the mines that the magus' tip-toe could fit in, which he exploited.

" _Emiya Shirou is running across the minefield as if there are no mines at all!? What is this insane luck! The chances that he'd step on a landmine is too high to ignore!_ "

" _No, he's still avoiding them,_ " Aizawa cut in. " _He's not running across with reckless abandon, he's keeping an eye on where he's putting his feet._ "

Shirou found himself impressed.

 _Aizawa caught on quick._

Indeed, there was one way he'd be getting through without triggering the mines… and that was to see the actual landmines first.

With the sound of booming and flashy explosions around him, it was somewhat hard for the average student to keep focus, but for Shirou, it was a cakewalk, especially with the added bonus of reinforcement to his eyes and using structural analysis on the ground before him. He had gotten better at using it at a range, especially on non-bladed objects like these landmines, begrudgingly thanks to Archer.

In short, he was literally running across the minefield and avoiding every possible landmine that he could've stepped on with his reinforced eyes.

Todoroki halted as he saw Shirou's quickly approaching form, which inevitably prompted Bakugo to do much of the same.

The reality of the situation caused the two of them to finally wise up and try to resume their progress in the obstacle race before Shirou made his way past them.

With his current speed, he certainly could.

However, Shirou's speed wouldn't last forever. The landmines in front of him were slowly but surely getting much more clumped together. Compared to the front of this particular obstacle, which looked like the spots on a grandmother's blouse, the front portion looked much more like ants on an anthill.

In short, he'd be blown away if he tried running over it.

Shirou would probably need to vault over the remained, and with the added boost of the following explosions that he'd be sure to trigger, the third-rate magus was sure that he would make it to the other end of the obstacle with almost no issue–

 _ **Thunder**_ _echoed out across the mine-filled field._

Shirou couldn't even turn around to see what happened before the utterly mind-numbing shock-wave hit him from behind like the current of a river.

The sudden force stunted his footing, causing him to fall forwards like a string-severed puppet.

If he fell now, then he'd trigger a whole load of landmines underneath him. With that in mine, Shirou quickly traced two nameless spears and jabbed them in the nooks between the landmines.

In doing so, he held himself up and away from the mines, but that was not without threatening to tear a ligament if he hadn't reinforced his body beforehand.

Todoroki created a mini-ice platform and held himself up. Bakugo simply held his ground and blasted behind him, creating a shock-wave to counter the infinitely bigger one before them.

"The hell!?" Bakugo shouted out in surprise, instantly ruling him out of the list of possible causes that Shirou formulated in his mind–

" _What's with that force!?_ " Present-Mic called out in surprise.

–and this was clearly not something they added in, too.

By the time the flashing light faded, the smoke cloud was still there… with something flying straight out of it.

" _Was it an accident, or did he do it on purpose!?"_ The bellow came out once more. _"Class A's Midoriya is exploding forth with a blast!"_

 _Midoriya Izuku._

" _Actually, he's taken the lead!"_

That announcement shocked the top two from their stupor.

Shirou, having found his footing again, ran ahead and avoided the landmines as he did prior. Bakugo blasted above them like a missile, and Todoroki abandoned his previous approach and simply made an ice path through it.

"Deku!" Bakugo screamed out. "I ain't letting you get ahead of me!"

Shirou was keeping pace with Todoroki, but Bakugo was above them, and gradually widening their distance.

" _The two formerly in the lead have stopped trying to slow each other down and are now chasing Midoriya!_ " Their English teacher called out. " _Now that they have a common enemy, they've stopped fighting! The fight's not over yet, though!_ "

" _What are you even saying?_ "

Shirou could hear Aizawa's annoyed tone there, but he didn't focus on it. He focused on the fact that Midoriya, the lead, was slowly losing speed.

At that height, if he were to land then he wouldn't be able to avoid some injuries. Should he stop and help?

The three of them – Todoroki, Bakugo, and Shirou himself – were almost there. With Midoriya slowly tumbling forward, Shirou could stop to catch him and continue the race easy enough. He'd lose his chance to be first in this obstacle race, but the sword-magus didn't see that as a loss.

The moment that they went past Midoriya, Shirou tried to catch him.

Keyword being _'tried'_.

The intensity in the usually nervous teen's eyes made the third-rate magus's arms pause before he even raised them to catch him.

Where had he seen such intensity before?

The teen twisted midair whilst holding onto a rope attached to a metal sheet. Shirou didn't even waste time questioning where he got it and focused on how it arced above the teen, rushing down and impacting the ground.

The _landmine-infested_ ground.

Shirou wasn't going to be caught out again. He swiftly traced a spear, jabbing it behind him for leverage, and covered his eyes.

It was going to be bright and loud once more.

The surging bright explosion surged out before him, shoving Bakugo and Todoroki to the side as Midoriya burst forth from the cloud like a rocket.

" _Midoriya swiftly blocks those behind him!"_ Present-Mic shouted. _"Would you believe it? He cleared the minefield in an instant!"_

Bakugo and Todoroki were quick to recover, but Shirou was already ahead of them by a small margin and rushed out of the minefield.

Midoriya was before him with dirt scuffling his uniform, likely from tumbling on the ground. He was incredibly far away, but that didn't seem to deter either Todoroki or Bakugo.

Shirou heard Present-Mic talk aloud once more, but he couldn't focus on it. He imagined that the others didn't either as they all entered the familiar tunnel towards the stadium.

The three of them basically neck and neck within the darkness of the tunnel, with Midoriya in the lead, it was likely that they'd manage to finish in the top four.

…

That was nice, Yu would be alright with that result.

…

This was fine, right? He managed to reach this far without Noble Phantasms, so it was fine, right?

…

 _Right?_

The moment Midoriya passed the finish line, earning his first-place spot in the tournament for the meantime, Todoroki came after that in second, and then Bakugo in third.

… Emiya Shirou finished a bit slower than them at fourth.

* * *

The moment the final call from Present-Mic came out, Yaoyorozu noted the result.

She certainly didn't expect that Midoriya made it that far, but with his flashy show prior in the minefield, it wasn't out of place.

He was the hard-worker who surpassed the geniuses before him, that which Yaoyorozu wanted to be. She could've made her way through the minefield with ease at the start by creating a magnet to scramble the nearby mines wiring and prevent the explosions altogether, but that was only if she was close to the front with the ability to run ahead as she pleased.

In fact, she could've been near the upper echelons of the race by now. "T-This isn't how it was supposed to…" She huffed out in both exhaustion and frustration.

With her current placing, she was anything but… especially with this little demon on her back!

"I've killed two birds with one stone! I'm a genius!"

 _You absolutely sully that word!_

"Y-You are absolutely the worst," Yaoyorozu wheezed out. "G-Get off! The race is over!"

When the little demon showed no sign of getting off of her, Yaoyorozu was prepared to take off her uniform entirely and throw him off, but his sudden complaining managed to grab her attention.

"Emiya! What're you doing!?"

"What a normal person would."

She turned her head just in time to see her savior and part-time teacher, Emiya Shirou, somewhat gently toss the little demon Mineta away. The short teen bounced on the ground before landing on his bum in mild irritation.

"Get ready for the next event," the Emiya added. "We don't have that much time to prepare, so make the most of it."

Mineta pouted for just a second but nodded in annoyed agreement. Actually, it absolutely stunned her that their mutual classmate deferred to his order in the first place. "Fine, fine. Later, Emiya!"

After he left, Yaoyorozu found it proper to sigh.

"I thank you for your assistance, Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu reciprocated. If she could've gotten that little demon away from her earlier then she would've gotten a much better placement than she had! She shook away the thought and stood tall and proud. "Well then, I suppose it's time we also prepare for the next… event?"

 _Why was he looking away?_

"Clothes, p-put on some clothes please."

"I am already wearing clothes, though?"

"Then cover yourself! We're on national television!"

Yaoyorozu actually frowned at that. "It'll inhibit my quirk usage though. The more skin I have out in the open, the more directions I can create my items."

She could finally create a primed flash grenade from behind her too. That should be able to catch a few people off guard! Even a random spike from her body would do that too. Perhaps her pelvis, her cake butler always seemed on the verge of a heart attack when she did.

"I see the logic, however… " Emiya noted, yet he covered his eyes with some sort of emotion on his face. "… I'm not so sure others think the same way."

Yaoyorozu momentarily contemplated those words before sighing and creating a new uniform under her old and torn one. These uniforms weren't made with the function of front opening, after all. It was faster to make a new one rather than to repair it.

She created a small bag and stuffed the torn uniform inside. It was extra equipment which would normally be penalized, but since it was made from her quirk, that wasn't so.

"Thank you."

"I don't see why you should be thanking me, Emiya-san."

"There are reasons, some that your parents really should've explained to you." Emiya bemoaned, but Yaoyorozu still couldn't figure out what. "Anyway, good luck with the rest of the events."

"You too, Emiya–"

"SWORD-BASTARD!"

In an instant, Yaoyorozu took a step back as a familiar teen appeared and grabbed her classmate by the collar of his uniform. The girl who could create almost anything regained her footing and realized who it was.

Bakugo Katsuki.

"Bakugo-san?" Emiya blurted out in sheer confusion. "What's wrong–"

"You SLOWED down at the end!" He screamed out.

"Calm down, Kacchan!" Midoriya came and tried to placate.

"Shut it, you damn nerd!" He roared towards him. Luckily, most of the students weren't here yet so a crowd had yet to form, but if he kept it up then it would soon. In fact, a few spectators from the stands took notice. "You held back! I thought I fucking told you that my victory won't mean jack-shit if you didn't give me your damn best!"

"You really were serious about that 'giving your all' thing? I don't know whether to be impressed or shocked," A new voice prompted, dragging the enraged teen's attention to a copy-quirk user. "However, this wasn't your victory, was it? I believe it was your classmate Midoriya that actually won here."

His smug reply did nothing to calm the situation. In fact, it probably fanned the fumes of Bakugo's rage.

Judging from the way his ears and eyes twitched, that seemed to be the case.

"Butt out of it, Copy-bastard!" Bakugo growled, loosening his grip ever so slightly. However, Emiya didn't try to pry him off, likely thinking it was going to make his mood worse if he tried. "Listen here, you might not give a shit about this festival, but I sure as hell do! Either get your shit together or go home! Because if you _dare_ make _my_ victory _worthless_ , then I'm going to blow you to hell!"

He shoved the red-haired teen and walked away, an intense frown eternally etched onto his face. He only stopped for a single moment to turn back.

"You got that, sword-for-brains? Give me a _damn_ challenge!"

It took a while, but eventually, Bakugo disappeared from their sights, mostly due to an equally familiar yet separate red-haired peer going up and talking to him.

"That was… interesting. Looks like you're on his shit-list, congratulations," Monoma dryly said, his lip dropping to the side in exasperated dismissal. "So, any credence to what he said, Emiya?" His eyes quickly narrowed on him. "Did you hold back…?"

Emiya, who had been relatively quiet the entire time, simply sighed. "I was already going to be in the top four, I thought that I might as well save some energy in the last spurt."

 _So he did hold back…_ Yaoyorozu didn't know how she felt about knowing that.

"Conserving your energy… not a bad idea," Monoma noted with a bittersweet frown. "Honestly, I told everyone in Class B to do that in the first round, but they wanted to beat all of Class A 'fairly', to quote their words…" He sighed in mild exasperation and turned away. "I'll see you later, Emiya."

With not much more to say, Monoma Neito simply turned on his heel and walked off.

"I… will also be seeing you later, Emiya-san," Yaoyorozu forced it out.

She walked away, not a hundred percent sure on what her own thoughts were.

 _He held back._

She had to prepare for the next event. Everyone was currently resting and calming themselves, so being stressed wasn't a good thing to be.

 _Emiya wasn't trying his hardest._

She wondered what the next event was going to be? The first two were always random, but there was always the chance that it'd be a repeat of one of the previous events.

 _Did Todoroki even try at all either? He didn't even use the other half of his quirk…_

The one who beat her and did better than she did, but he did not try his hardest. How was that supposed to make her feel?

 _What did she get fired up for?_

As she awaited the next event, she noted that she had wandered pretty far away from the Emiya… but perhaps that was for the best. She wasn't even sure of what she'd actually say if he was right before her now…

Yaoyorozu blinked in surprise as she raised her hand to her face.

"Since when have I been clenching my fingers…?"

* * *

 _What a blunder._

"The top forty-two made it through to the next round," Midnight declared from her podium. "It's unfortunate, but don't worry about it even if you didn't make it through! We've prepared other chances for you to shine."

If Shirou had been focusing on her speech, he would've been off-put by the way she licked her lips as she said that. However, Shirou's thoughts were of something else entirely.

"The real competition begins next! Give it your all, and as the first-year speaker said, victory won't be worth anything if you don't give it your all!"

Those weren't the exact words, likely censored for the benefit of those listening at home, but it proved motivating enough for the rest of the students.

Unfortunately, Shirou was focusing on his most recent debacle with his classmate, Bakugo, to be precise. That particular memory took most, if not then all, of his current thoughts.

The teen had offended him by taking it slow in that last spurt. Shirou wasn't blind and acknowledged that fact. However, while he expected Bakugo to have some sort of negative reaction, he didn't realize that it would trigger one as serious as the one he got.

Maybe he should've actually tried more in that last spurt, made it look much closer than it was, or maybe tried to hold back much more discreetly. Maybe if he had done that, then Bakugo wouldn't have been so volatile in his reaction…

… Then again, if he had tried, then he'd be taking away the result that others worked hard for. Shirou was sure that Todoroki wanted that victory as much as Midoriya and Bakugo did, so he let them have it.

He didn't want it. Someone like him, who existed to help others, did not need the recognition. He would've been fine fading into the background as those he helped cheered in happiness.

Those feelings, this time, backfired.

If Bakugo had felt _this_ wronged at by the decision, then what did Todoroki and Midoriya feel? Moreover, how did the others, who had overheard them, feel? Did he cause them unease in some way?

Once the event was over, he'd go out and try to talk with them. There should be quite a bit of free time before the next event began, enough to console or explain himself to them if need be.

Although, Shirou wasn't sure Bakugo would take kindly to either.

The once-master of Saber took a deep breath. A quick shake of his head later, Shirou had cleared his mind somewhat, enough so that he focused on the R-18 hero's announcement with little issue.

"Now then, here is the second event! I already know what it is, but what could it be, what could it be?" Midnight teased in an effort to play up the crowd. "I just said it, and now here it is…!"

 _A Cavalry Battle._

"… This! A Cavalry-Battle with the top forty-two from the qualifier!"

 _Ah, a familiar one._

Shirou recalled the few sports festivals he participated in, or rather the singular one. He didn't really see a point in participating in them for a few reasons. One was to let his other classmates have fun with it… sort of like what he was doing now, come to think of it.

The other was that he didn't really see the point in competing. He actually preferred the cultural festival much more because of how much help some classes would need with their booths. Shirou particularly enjoyed the time his class made a Takoyaki booth together, even if they made him do most of the work. It was his pleasure to do so.

"It's not an individual event, so I wonder how it'll work?" Tsuyu muttered in righteous confusion. She did have a point.

A Cavalry Battle was where a group of people would help support one person atop them all. That person would have a headband on his head, usually either red or white, based on what team they were on, and they would aim to grab the headbands of other Cavalry Battle Groups. The last team standing usually wins.

Emphasis on the word 'team'. All Cavalry Battles basically functioned as a team game, so how would that translate into an individual event?

"Let me explain," Midnight started as she turned to the board once more. "The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different is... well, based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value."

"In other words, each team is worth different points depending on who's on the team…!" Uraraka deduced.

"You guys don't hold back even though I'm talking, huh!?" Midnight berated, snapping her overgrown tassel at the noisy students. She huffed quickly and resumed her explanation. "Yes, that's right! And the points assigned go up by five, starting from the bottom! So forty-second place gets five points, and forty-first gets ten points!"

That'd create some dynamics for sure. Priority targets would exist just based on the top placers alone– Hang on, wasn't he the fourth out of forty-two? Wasn't that worth a lot of points?

Sure enough, looking at the holographic screen above, Shirou could see his own points at 200. Of course, this meant Bakugo was at 205 and Todoroki at 210, but curiously, it didn't show Midoriya's points.

"And the point value assigned to the one who received first place in the qualifier, Midoriya Izuku, is worth…" Midnight trailed off for suspense value. "Ten-million!"

…

 _What?_

"Ten-million…" Shirou heard from around him. The voice of who, he couldn't pinpoint, but from the faces of those around him, he didn't have to.

His peers all wore faces of narrowed determination. In fact, they had all turned away from the R-18 professional hero and focused on one student.

Midoriya Izuku.

 _This was… interesting._

Interesting was one way to put it. With that amount of points, even the one at last place could win an undeniable victory if he got the headband from Midoriya's head.

An undeniable victory…

Shirou could not help but spare Bakugo a quick glance, only to find himself staring into a surprisingly calm yet unrelenting gaze. The teen was staring at Midoriya, his childhood friend if he remembered Midoriya mentioning, with a very different look to what Shirou expected.

However, Bakugo wasn't the only one. Another quick glance showed that Todoroki had a similar look directed at Midoriya, albeit simmered to some degree.

Bakugo's gaze broke into an angry growl the moment the explosive teen caught his line of sight.

Deciding to not push his luck, Shirou looked away. However, he could still feel his glare boring into the back of his head.

" _Give me a damn challenge!"_

"It's the survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!" Midnight called out, unaware of the repercussion of doing so. "'Those at the top will suffer more'. You'll hear this many times as you attend U.A. This is what 'Plus Ultra' means!"

Midnight then decided to cough to clear her throat.

"Now then, I will explain the rules of the cavalry battle. The time limit is fifteen minutes. Each team is worth the total of its members' points, and the riders will wear a headband with that number on their foreheads. Teams will try to grab each other's headbands until time runs out, and try to keep as many points as they can. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So this means, the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them!" Midnight explained. "And, the most important thing, is that even if your headband gets stolen, or if your team falls, you're not out!"

Forty-two people, which means there will be ten or twelve teams, assuming most groups will have at most four members. It'd be much more even with three members per group, which would result in fourteen teams, but you would definitely want four people for a more stable foothold.

… A few teams will be lopsided in that regard, then.

"During the game, it'll be a cruel fight where you can use your quirks," Midnight continued. "But it is still a Cavalry Battle, so the standard penalties apply. You'll get a red card for attacks that are trying to make people fall on purpose! In doing so, you'll be removed immediately!"

Shirou could hear a few people being dissatisfied with that.

"Now! You have fifteen minutes to build your teams," She called out one last time. "Start!"

Shirou breathed in.

Well then, how would he handle this event?

The red-haired magus personally found no reason to advance into the next event. It was going to be the usual one-on-one fight, and with his goal of keeping his abilities secret, it'd be detrimental to participate in it…

Shirou breathed out.

… However, he did promise Yu that he'd give it his best. Dropping out would be pretty dishonest, and besides…

Shirou sent a quick glance at the explosive teen.

He didn't want a repeat of before. Bakugo was volatile enough as he is. Creating another reason for that engine to combust wasn't a smart idea. This time, he was going to be serious –

" _SWORD-BASTARD!"_

– even if Shirou himself didn't feel particularly inclined to.

He needed to find a team, which should be easy seeing as he was fourth-ranked. There would be people who could see that he was high enough on the totem pole that his points were worth it, and that he was low enough that he wouldn't be targeted as frequently.

Problem was… who was he going to have on his team?

He didn't really focus on what other peoples quirks were other than a surface observation.

Maybe he could try and work with Yaoyorozu? Her quirk provided some worthwhile protection. Together, they could be able to be a frightening combination.

With the thought in mind, Shirou turned to find the pony-tailed girl but froze in his steps as he found her standing alongside several others already.

The others being namely, Todoroki, Iida, and Kaminari.

With that particular plan out in flames, Shirou sighed. Perhaps he could find others, then? The magus had no idea who to have on his team, but he was certainly pondering on the possibilities.

He had thought of Ibara Shiozaki from Class B, especially because her quirk was perfect for defensive options, but that was quickly ruled out due to her already being on a team with Tetsutetsu and other Class B students. He thought of Jiro and Sato, but those two had already found their own groups relatively quickly…

… Actually, now that he looked around, almost everyone already had groups. Didn't this mean that he was basically alone to pick from the stragglers?

"We're aiming for the ten-million, right guys?" Shirou heard from behind him.

"Definitely! Straight at him!"

"No, no! We'll get him when he'll expect us the least!"

Shirou turned behind him and found that their plan wasn't just one that they shared. All the students around him shared the idea of targeting the first-placed student. Midoriya Izuku.

Feeling a tad curious, Emiya Shirou turned to his fellow highly-valuable classmate. What he found honestly surprised him. The messy mop of green-tinted hair had two other members. He didn't recognize the one with goggles, pink hair, and support-gear, but he noticed Uraraka easily enough.

Strange, he had thought nobody would have wanted to pair up with him, especially with the metaphorically huge target on his head. Idly, Shirou noted that there were only three members on that team, which meant that they had one more slot available.

That slot would definitely need to be filled, seeing as those two girls alone might not be enough to carry Midoriya, especially if he was going to be the head… Or it might, seeing as Uraraka was there to lighten his load, which would definitely work well with the boosters she had on her feet.

Shirou tried to ignore the odd history behind the machine's development.

Their team had high mobility. However, even with that mobility, they'd still need to be able to avoid all the teams that come after them. They couldn't just keep running away. Midoriya would need some literal firepower on their side if they want to stay in the game.

Shirou did have firepower… but it wasn't something he could offer. If he joined their team, then it would be to their detriment. While he could fire swords and keep others at bay, it would do nothing with Todoroki's ice, which was what Midoriya should really keep an eye out for.

In short, Shirou couldn't help them as much as he wanted to. In actually pained him to look away from them, his own mind basically commanding him that helping Midoriya would be the right thing and that helping him to victory was a good thing…

… but he could already see the impending backlash that he'd get from Bakugo if he did. If he joined Midoriya, then the explosive teen's overly competitive mind would see it as Shirou not willing to compete for the top spot fairly yet again.

So as much as it pained him to close his eyes and try to focus on every single other possible option that the event could offer – which was incredibly limited based on how quickly the available students were dwindling – the third-rate magus closed off the possibility of joining Midoriya.

It was just a harmless event, Shirou would tell himself, and that there was no shame in not helping in this situation… but someone like him didn't have the luxury of time. Options were dwindling and at this rate, he would need to join the green mop of hair just to stay in the event.

All this convoluted mental juggling because of one teen's explosive reaction. Was it really all that important that Shirou tried and grant Bakugo's simple wish of a worthwhile victory?

… If Shirou really was thinking of it like that in the first place, then perhaps it was.

As Shirou made his decision, his feet stopped in abject exasperation. Fantastic. Midoriya already got Tokoyami on his team, and while the ginger-haired teen was happy for him, it also meant that he was straight out of options.

Looks like he was stuck with the leftovers, then. That wouldn't go over well with Bakugo.

"Hmm… That is quite the amount of points you have there," someone said, surprising him because he hadn't been talked to the entire time the fifteen-minute waiting period began. "One-hundred and ninety-five. Granted, it isn't exactly ten-million, but we are not suicidal enough to willingly paint a _target_ of all things on our backs."

Recognizing the voice, Shirou turned to find Shinso staring directly at him. Directly behind him were two other faces… two extremely familiar, faces.

"We seem to be lacking a rider. In our line up, we lack the ability to keep others away if we take their headbands…" Shinso continued as he pointed at Kodai Yui and Shishida Jurota. "… However, I distinctly heard that you have some range in your arsenal, courtesy of one of your classmates. With this in mind, would you care to join us?"

Shirou spared a few seconds to blink.

Apparently, an instant answer was what they were looking for. Because he didn't give them one, Kodai took a few steps forward and bowed her head.

"Please. There is no one else left. _Help_."

Shirou didn't hesitate to answer a few seconds later.

There was no one else left, after all.

* * *

 **A/N: This was late, really late. I'm gonna apologize about that, but I did have a personal reason.**

 **I was on vacation for half of the month (dropped on me by my parents suddenly) so I basically went with my family on a road trip. We were gone for a week or two and I found it hard to make some time to write. I wanted to spend much more time with my parents since I barely see them at all (like once a month of a year or so).**

 **Anyway, I'm sure you noticed that I used a couple of familiar faces for Shirou's Cavalry team, and that's mostly for the benefit of one single character, Shinso. How exactly, you'll probably see the next chapter. Yeap, next chapter. Sorry that I didn't include the actual calvary battle here, but I didn't have the time (and the chapter would get too long).**

 **Fun facts, I only used Kodai and Shishida back then was due to how easy deducing their quirks were before, and then Kohei actually revealed their quirks so my 'safe' guess was basically wrong. They were used here again because... well, they weren't particularly doing well in the cavalry battle canonically anyway. Although this means that there are teams with possible combinations between (LastName/FirstName) Fukidashi Manga, Rin Hiryu, Ojiro Mashirao, Aoyama Yuga, Bondo Kojiro, and Shoda Nirengeki. So yeah, I don't know what combo would be good, but that's not important in the long run.**

 **Oh, I need to calculate how many points each student has if I want to be stupidly specific. Oof.**

 **Shirou seems odd with his mindset here, but I wanted to show how he's still struggling to come to terms with the idea of going all-out in an event where he gives zero shits. A regular guy is competitive enough to a degree to give it a shot, but Shirou's got none of that drive right now.**

 **Let's see... news... yeah I got none. Hunting Quests in FGO JP are not particularly exciting (damnit I just want QP to raise my Servants). I went and saw some movies, Alladin Live-action was 6/10. Gonna go see Godzilla soon, so don't spoil me or I'll block you. Not even joking.**

 **Yup, that's all. Leave a review when you notice an error (I noticed a few when I re-read previous chapters so I'm going back and editing them) or if you have any peeves or questions. I got one that said I didn't understand Shirou fully, which I fully agreed with, so I'm working on improving that.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Seeing other's getting tired of the "No Noble Phantasm" limiter is getting a bit understandable. Twenty-four chapters and Shirou still doesn't want to use them, blegh. However, while I do understand, there is definitely a time and place for such a reveal. If I chose to reveal it now, then the impact would honestly be diminished significantly. I DO know when and how to reveal it, but it's not anytime soon.**

 **If you truly want to know when I want to reveal that Shirou will use Noble Phantasms freely, then send over a PM and I'll tell you the exact arc it'll happen. I guarantee you, it's the perfect time for it to happen.** **Sorry for the inconvenience.**


	26. Chapter 25 - A Sword for Others

**Chapter 25**

 **Beta: L33t Horo**

 **Cover: LousGndiner**

* * *

Aizawa sighed in exhaustion.

He wasn't tired – well, not more than usual – but the event was taking its toll on him. The constant talking wasn't doing his admittedly sore throat any good, not even a glass of water could help quench it.

All of that, added with Yamada's insistent yammering, created a situation where he just wanted to slump on his chair and take a long-deserved nap. However, with the sports festival still in relatively high-gear, that wasn't an option.

Especially after that close finish at the end.

Four students, all neck and neck, managed to claim the top four with ease. It surprised him that Midoriya managed to reach first, but Aizawa supposed that his ingenuity was more than it seemed. It certainly helped that the other top two were busy fighting it out with each other. In a race. Like fools.

Aizawa suppressed a headache and calmed the throbbing vein on his forehead.

He'd be teaching them about how there was a time for everything, especially about fighting in the middle of a public venue. Sure, the audience loved it, but that occurrence was sure to dock them a few points in the eyes of any professional hero worth their salt.

Although, their quirks did make an impression, so Aizawa imagined that they'd still get quite a few internships offers after the festival finally ended. Unlike Midoriya, whose quirk as volatile as they came.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes.

… _speaking of volatile._

Luckily, not many of the audience noticed, but Aizawa certainly did.

Bakugo and Emiya had argued, vocally, mostly on the explosive teen's part. Something the Emiya did had angered him to a degree. Unfortunately, Aizawa could guess the reason.

Aizawa wasn't an idiot. He had perfectly good working eyes, as sore and damaged as they usually were. He had seen Emiya run faster than what he recorded, albeit to a lesser degree. He imagined that no other teacher noticed, but Eraser-Head sure as hell did.

He held back again, just like in their first lesson.

Aizawa failed to hold back his headache.

"Terrific…" He mumbled under his breath. Everything with the brat just got him irritated.

Emiya didn't take this event seriously enough. It was something that would influence his development as a hero and help him land a place at a good agency in the future, but the brat seemed to care less.

No, Aizawa _knew_ that the brat could care less. The experience he'd gain from an internship, he didn't need it because he already had some, especially from his still ambiguous past. The fact that performing well would boost his popularity didn't matter because the brat planned to go underground, just like Aizawa would.

The limelight wasn't what he sought, so he stopped at the very last second and let the others get ahead of him. Fourth place was respectable in the eyes of the public and good enough for him.

Bakugo didn't think so, some of his classmates didn't think so, and Aizawa sure as hell didn't think so.

Every pragmatic reason the brat could have had flooded the sleepy hero's mind in an endless torrent.

Fame? All it did was paint a target on your back. The brat certainly didn't want that. The event was public too, so all future and current villains would know their capabilities. By holding himself back, he'd prepare against those unseen threats… unseen threats such as the still-at-large League of Villains.

The worst part of it all, the absolute worst part that got Aizawa's mind reeling in subsequent disgust, was that he could _agree_ with most of it.

"So, Aizawa," Yamada pipped up after turning his microphone off. No use for spectators to hear their thoughts at the moment. "What do you think of the teams so far? Any combo's piquing your interest? Come on, you can tell me!"

… Aizawa sighed once more.

He was glad to be friends with Yamada. He always dragged him out of his rapidly spiraling train of thought. With that appreciation in mind, Aizawa decided to sigh in exhaustion.

"I could care less about the combinations," Aizawa bluntly stated, happy for the change in topic. "All that matters in the teamwork between them. Sure, a good combination of quirks could lead to a substantial advantage, but if their ability to cooperate is non-existent then it'll all be for nothing."

"True, true," Yamada admitted. "However! I believe we need to get into the spirit of things, just like our cute little students!"

The muddle of bandages narrowed his eyes. "… Where are you going with this?"

"A bet, let's make one!"

"No."

He was glad to be friends with him, but he had no patience for his idiocy.

"Come on!" Yamada complained. "I know, _for a fact_ , that everyone else is making one!"

"Then make a bet with them," Aizawa finalized. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when the event starts."

He needed that nap too. All his previous thoughts were purged, for the time being, so his mental activity was at an all-time low, perfect for a ten or fifteen-minute nap.

Closing his eyes for the lull of blissful sleep was all that he needed to focus on. He had enough of Emiya's idiocy and Yamada's yapping for one day. Just a second of shut-eye would give him all that he–

"Oh look, the Emiya kid is working with Class-B students. Kinda weird that he's the _rider_ though."

…

Aizawa's withered eyes, red from both soreness and irritation, glared at his fellow professional hero. Although at the moment, that professional tag was infinitely debatable.

"Oh? That got your attention, didn't it?" Yamada laughed off. "If you're curious, the ones carrying him are Shishida Jurota, Kodai Yui, and Shinso Hitoshi. What do you think? How do you fancy their chances?"

… Screw it. Aizawa wasn't going to be getting any shut-eye with the loudest professional hero in Japan right next to him, and especially with his mind once more being dragged back to that brat.

Not even Bakugo, with an attitude problem that eclipsed the meaning of the word, had given him a larger headache.

"Not zero, but unlikely. Other groups seem to have better combinations." Aizawa stated. "One of them has a quirk that can be easily countered by simply not talking – whose classmates have undoubtedly told their teammates about. Another is a beast who gets incredibly high when using his quirk, and the last one doesn't have any effective objects to use her quirk on."

It was one of the most dysfunctional teams he had seen yet. Even that little screwball of a human being, Mineta Minoru, had better team synergy.

"Right, let's go through all of that one at a time! Emiya could make some stuff for Kodai!" Yamada pointed out. "Sure, they'd all be weapons and stuff, but that's at least something. Giant swords or something."

 _As if throwing giant swords were a viable method of offense._

"While possible, it's limited in application," Aizawa countered. "Large objects are often easy to see coming, and subsequently dodge. I'd imagine that the preparation time to create them would also be tediously long. On the event that they create something like that, then I suppose they could use them to block off enemy teams and keep their own points safe, but then they'd be cornering themselves in the process."

Yamada winced. He knew how bad it was to be trapped in a corner, outnumbered, with little-to-no escape. Only a lucky break would get someone out of that situation. Or if you were All-Might and broke through it, like he always would.

"In the first place, why is the one with a mind-control quirk carrying? If he were the body, he'd have more opportunities to goad others into a reaction for his quirk, and subsequently breaking their formation, even if they would be prepared for his quirk. There are a lot of hot-headed brats here." Aizawa continued. "Kodai as well. She'd be better at lobbing objects with both of her hands being free."

"Shishida solves that though!" Yamada countered with a bit of cheek. He must've been looking for even a slight weakness in his arguments. "With his quirk, Shishida would be large enough to carry all of them! True, it'd be a tight fit and some could fall off, but as long it isn't the designated rider, all is _OKAY_!"

Aizawa pondered a bit.

He hated to admit it, but his friend had a point. The Shishida brat's quirk, while degrading his mental inhibitions to a degree, would grant him superior physical bulk and mass. He'd be large enough to carry all three of them, making him a one-man calvary… However.

"As large as he is, Shishida Jurota is just one man," Aizawa continued. "Their offensive capabilities, with technically three riders, is high, but one slip up and they all go tumbling down. There are enough quirks with the ability to do that, Honenuki's for example."

Yamada let out a long sound, trying to think of something to say, but ultimately fell silent. "Shoot. You got me there. Okay, their team comp is a bit weird. So, who do you bet on?"

"No."

"Aw come on!"

"The event is starting anyway," Aizawa reminded. "Turn on your mic and let's get this over with."

Seeing Present-Mic panic for a bit brought Aizawa just a little joy, but it was ultimately tempered by his irritation. Hopefully, the brat doesn't do anything stupid this time. He didn't want to teach a class full of volatile and angst-ridden teenagers.

His class honestly had _more_ than enough of that.

* * *

Shirou took in a deep breath and surveyed the situation.

The cavalry teams have more or less been finalized. To their immediate left was a team of Ojiro Mashirao – the one with the tail – and Shoda Nirengeki as a body and Aoyama as the rider, which was sort of expected considering his personality.

Shirou had no idea what Shoda's quirk was, and it appeared that his classmates didn't know either. He didn't do much during the indoor training exercise which caused him to actually fail that assignment.

Then again, Shirou had been talking with Kodai and Shinso so he didn't pay attention to his match. A blunder on his part, seeing as they were now on opposing sides.

– _only during this event. Not a real enemy_.

The thought came back as a reminder, yet Shirou found it somewhat easier to push it out of his mind. The only real enemy he had was the League of Villains and Avenger, both of which should be watching this event with gusto along with the rest of the country–

"Emiya?" Kodai piped up, snapping the young third-rate magus from his thoughts. "You look distracted."

Shirou simply sighed in apology. "Sorry, I was thinking about some things. Don't worry, I won't let it distract me."

Kodai was behind him, but hanging a bit to the left seeing as Shinso was also behind him but towards the left. They formed a sort of triangle of riders, which many other competitors wondered if that was legal.

Kodai said that she had checked about it earlier. Because of the odd number of students this year, it was allowed to have a minimum of one body to ride atop on. Shirou could even see a team of two a few meters behind him, with Tsunotori Pony as the body – apparently, she was a foreigner who transferred in – and Kamakiri Togaru who was similar to Tokoyami in a certain aspect. That certain aspect being that, instead of having a bird head, he had a centipede.

"Nah, I think it'd be good to get 'em thoughts out," Shishida said from below them. He didn't seem to be struggling to carry around three people. His quirk had already so he was definitely high. It was actually remarkable that he seemed to be able to talk and fight coherently. "Don't want em' distracting ya in the middle of a brawl. Cough 'em up!"

Shirou hesitated for a second but eventually relented.

Constantly throwing the thoughts around in his head did nothing but echo back at him the same things he already knew. It frustrated him, but he knew that seeking counsel was probably his best move. He did it with Saber in the war, and with Rin when all hope had seemed lost.

Granted, Rin had forced it all out of him but the thought still counted.

"I'm sure you know, but I've seemed to upset Bakugo. I have a few guesses as to why, but none of it concrete."

"Oh yeah, that…" Shishida muttered, clicking his tongue in contemplation. "I didn't really see it, but I heard about that. Nasty piece of work, isn't he? Just ignore him."

"It's probably because he _can't_ ignore it that it's bothering him," Shinso stated with a hundred percent accuracy. "So, Emiya. I'm guessing that you feel responsible to a degree? Monoma told me about it. You held back at the last spurt."

"He what!?" Shishida sputtered wildly. It shook all three of them for a bit before they gripped his fur and reoriented themselves. "Why'd ya do that!?"

"Don't shake us off before we even begin the cavalry battle." Shinso berated. "… but I do agree with Shishida. This event means a lot, especially to that Bakugo. I can see why he's furious," He then narrowed his eyes. "Even now, he's glaring at us from over there."

Sure enough, Bakugo – with his cavalry team of Kirishima, Sero, and Ashido – was glaring daggers their way. Even without a word, Shirou could tell one thing.

He was definitely going after them.

"Troublesome," Shinso muttered. "A shame. If he was like the others then he'd be going after Midoriya."

Shirou frowned. "He probably is, but then he'll be going after us next."

"Emiya's fault."

"Thank you, Kodai, for stating the obvious," Shinso drawled.

Admittedly, a bit of indignation crawled its way out and Shirou let a little snark slip. "Alright, that was my fault, but you were the ones who picked me as your teammate in the first place." He didn't like doing that. It reminded him of Archer.

Shinso tilted his head in consideration but nodded. "Well, you reap what you sow. You reaped Bakugo so you deal with that, and we reaped you so we're also dealing with that."

 _You reap what you sow…_

For some reason, those words kept circling in his head. He shook it away before it could control his mind. He didn't want it to spiral down a weird train of thought again.

"Speaking of which," Shirou started back up. "Why did you pick me? I'm sure there are better options."

He couldn't exactly slice and dice other riders now could he?

"Your quirk works with mine," Kodai surprisingly answered. "I'm useless otherwise."

"They didn't let us bring our gear, which I'm sure you know," Shinso supplied. "Not that it would do much. My quirk is better used as a surprise, so I'd also be more or less useless. Shishida was our only brawn, but there was no way he could be the rider. There were certainly other choices, like that Yaoyorozu girl, but she and others were already taken."

So he was the last resort, then? Somehow, that made a lot of sense.

"Adding to that," Shinso continued. "Would you mind creating some things for us right now? I'd like to be able to do something at least."

Shirou nodded and prepared to trace something, only to stop to consider what exactly he'd be tracing.

He couldn't trace a sword, cavalry members couldn't go for other riders. They also couldn't mess with the balance of other teams through physical contact so a prodding staff wouldn't do either. By _physical_ , Shirou meant pushing and shoving wasn't allowed, but things like changing the landscape with Honenuki's quirk or through Todoroki's ice was allowed.

With that in mind, giving them weapons was a lackluster idea. They, both his teammates and weapons, would be dead weight. Shirou also imagined it'd be bad to see a bunch of students pointing swords at other students, even though there are infinitely more dangerous quirks being used currently.

So it wouldn't be a weapon.

"Here you go," Shirou said as the traced object was handed to Shinso, and another to Kodai.

A shield.

The same shield that he used in the entrance exam, the one that protected his back while he and Kodai awaited aid under the pile of rubble.

He was tracing shields a lot more recently. Maybe there was a shield noble phantasm in UBW other than Rho-Aias he could use, but that was less of a shield and more of a conceptual barrier. He'd have to ask Archer later.

"Looks nice," Shinso commented. "A shield though… I guess we could defend from behind and the sides. Other teams will have to come through the front to try and grab the bandanna. Not bad. I could probably conceal myself if it was bigger too. Although, I'd have to try and change my voice manually."

"Hmm…" Kodai pondered. In a second, the shield grew in size and shrunk accordingly, which honestly surprised Shirou. That shield wasn't _real_ in the sense that it was made of metal and padded with fur but made from his magecraft. Was she also altering the mass of magically conjured objects?

Shirou didn't understand quirks, sometimes.

Once she finished trying her quirk out, she enlarged Shinso's shield just a tiny bit. Large enough to conceal him but still light enough that he could carry it without issue. "Here you go, Shinso. Could you create some more things for me, Emiya? I can put them in my pockets to use later."

Seeing no reason to decline, Shirou did just that.

There was probably only a few more minutes left for planning. So Shirou took a scope of the other teams again. Ignoring Aoyama's team, there was also Kojiro Bondo, the teen with a speech bubble for a head, and Rin Hiryu as a team. Odd combo, but it could work. Especially because Bondo's quirk would be able to prevent others from moving too much.

There was also a floating headband far off to the side being carried by Koda, Sato, and Jiro… So that was probably Hagakure, the invisible girl that was currently without a top. That's… Shirou decided not to comment.

He sighed.

Seriously, why was he the rider? Shinso could've done much better, especially because Shirou was much more physically fit so he could've shared the load with Shishida.

Actually, that was a good question. He should've asked it.

"Shinso, are you sure that you want me to be the rider? I think I'd be better as a cavalry member."

"It's your points that we're piggybacking from, not ours." Shinso absently pointed out.

"But isn't it better for you? You'd be able to focus on baiting out responses for you quirk," Shirou continued as he turned back to look at him.

In the heat of battle, it was taboo to speak. However, in an event like this, with a bunch of hot-headed teens, words will eventually spill out no matter the reason. Whether or not those words were from anger or triumph, Shinso would be able to take advantage of that with ease.

So why wasn't he the rider?

Shinso seemed to consider his answer for a short while, which confused Shirou somewhat but he waited patiently. The mind-controlling teen tucked himself behind the traced shield as he answered.

"Do you remember back when we first met?"

Shirou blinked.

"That came out of nowhere, but yes, I do," Shirou admitted. How could he forget? It was a very eventful first meeting. "I don't see why you'd bring it up though."

"Just humor me for a bit," the teen continued. "I said that you were who I was to thank for getting into U.A. via recommendation. In a way, I supposed I was needlessly antagonistic. I used my quirk on you right from the get-go, which shouldn't have been the first thing I did if I wanted to make a good impression."

From the way Kodai blinked and narrowed her eyes, it appeared that she had her suspicions but she didn't even realize Shinso had used his quirk back then.

"I was… curious, as to what Uwabami-sama's first choice was like," Shinso admitted. "I thought to myself, if it weren't for you then I'd have never have been recommended. From the days leading up to our meeting, I could only ever wonder what you were like. I guess you could say that I was a little obsessed."

He narrowed his own eyes. "I wanted to know more, so I used my quirk on you to learn more. So imagine my surprise when you didn't fall under the effects of my quirk. I didn't even know that my quirk could be resisted, which was a good experience. I suppose I'll need to consider that in the future."

Shirou held his wince back. His quirk probably couldn't be resisted, especially when it came to the average person and others in this world, but the red-head had instinctively flooded his circuits with his prana to cease the effects.

Shinso's quirk was a frighteningly strong one.

"When I told Uwabami-sama about it, she scolded me," Shinso continued. "She was right. It wasn't something that an aspiring hero should do. Someone like me, with a quirk as easily abused as mine, should have thought better. I'm not trying to justify myself, so I wanted to apologize for that event."

"It's fine," Shirou replied. "Its water under the bridge now. You didn't mean any harm."

"Even if there wasn't harm intended, it was still a reprehensible act," Shinso pushed. "I joined U.A. for one reason and one reason alone, to prove that anyone could be a hero, even if they had a villain's quirk. While I am in Uwabami-sama's debt, I owe everything to you."

The plum-haired teen turned to face the stands, or at one booth in particular. If Shirou recalled correctly, it was a booth that held the more famous professional heroes. He could guess why he was looking there.

"If you hadn't saved her, then she wouldn't have found me. If you hadn't saved her, then she wouldn't have started her campaign to rewrite how hero courses accept their students. If you hadn't saved her, then I wouldn't have gotten into U.A," He concluded as he closed his eyes. "Truly, I thank you. Because of you, I'm able to pursue my dream, on this grand stage known as the U.A. sports festival."

"I really didn't do anything though–" Shirou tried to argue. Those choices that Uwabami had made weren't his. He should be thanking her, not him.

"No, it was because of you. Don't argue with me on this, Emiya. I have thought long and hard about this. No matter what you say, it's the truth."

He sighed and lowered his head. "With Uwabami-sama aiding me, I have already achieved my dream, Emiya. So I have no need for the limelight. Perhaps if Uwabami-sama hadn't extended her hand to me, I would have still tried for U.A.'s entrance exam… and most likely fail and settle as a general course student. Perhaps I would be actively seeking the limelight if I did…"

His eyes reopened and focused on the ginger magus. "So, I decided that you, who was the very reason my chance her existed, should be in the limelight. That reason, alone, is why I personally wanted you to be the rider."

Shirou found himself falling silent.

He turned away and contemplated. "… I'll try and live up to your expectations then, Shinso."

Shinso's quirk was a frighteningly strong one, but Shinso himself was an equally strong person.

The mind-controlling teen snorted in response.

"After I pour my heart out like that, you still call me by my last name… You can call me Hitoshi. I don't mind," He added with a smile. His smile stunted when he noticed something. "Ah, sorry about that tirade, Kodai. You too Shishida. I'm sure it was boring for both of you."

"No, it's fine," Kodai refuted. "I didn't know you had such deep reasons for being here. It was… enlightening."

Shinso lightly snorted once more. "Alright then. What about you, Shishida?"

He got no response.

"Shishida?" Shinso muttered again. "Emiya, can you check over him?"

Shirou was already about to do that so he didn't need to ask. The magus peered over the bestial teen's shaggy mop of hair and took a gander at him.

At first, there wasn't anything that he could see was wrong. His glasses were foggy so that made it hard to see his eyes, but he was definitely still breathing. "Shishida," Shirou tried calling out.

When he got no response, he made to call again, but something caught his eye.

The snot bubble growing from his nostril.

 _He's asleep!?_

In an instant, the sound of a blaring alarm echoed throughout the stadium. A quick glance behind him to the large monitor showed a few simple words.

In big bold letters, _'Time Up!'_ was displayed.

"Now then, it's about time to get started!" Midnight shouted from her podium.

"Shishida, wake up!" Shirou hastily shouted. "The cavalry battle is starting!"

"Wake up– He fell asleep!?" Shinso shouted, in a rare display of surprise. "I knew his quirk made him unstable, but staying still for so long actually made him fall asleep?"

" _After fifteen minutes to form teams and talk strategy, twelve cavalry teams are lined up on the field!"_ Present-Mic shouted to the crowd. _"Now, raise those battle cries! It's time for U.A.'s bloody battle! Light the signal fire!"_

The red-haired magus made hasty slaps to the side of the bestial teen's face in a somewhat desperate effort to wake him up. When that proved to do nothing, Shirou tried pulling on his fur and shake him awake, which also didn't work.

 _How deeply did this guy sleep!?_

" _You all made your teams, right? I ain't gonna ask if you're all ready or not!"_ the loudest professional-hero in Japan exclaimed, which made Shirou's attempts at awakening the slumbering beast all the more fervent. _"Now, let's go! Counting down to the brutal battle royal! Three!"_

"No choice then," Shirou found himself muttering as he traced something with his magecraft.

" _Two!"_

With a quick snap of his wrist, Shirou held an all-too-familiar bamboo training sword – the Torashinai – and slammed it down on Shishida's head.

Fuji-nee had done it before on those few times he'd oversleep practicing his magecraft and it had always awoken him. Through that experience and logic, he did the same to Shishida.

" _One!"_

Seeing the bestial teen shudder and wake up was exactly what Shirou wanted, but seeing Shishida spasm in absolute panic wasn't. In their panic, The teen managed to catch a glimpse of another team eyeing them. Said team was right beside them.

"What!? What's going on!?" The bestial teen shouted. "Where are we!?"

" _Start!"_

"Jump back, Shishida!"

In that short instant, Shishida relied back on his instincts and did as he was told. In doing so, he managed to avoid the floor he stood on becoming a swamp of sludge.

 _Honenuki's quirk._

The sudden movement had jostled them a bit, causing Kodai to loosen her grip on her shield somewhat but she remained stable by gripping hard on Shishida's fur. Shinso did much of the same.

Shirou had kept his balance and eyed the other team. Unfortunately, they had planned to trap them with that move and steal their headband with ease, so that meant they ended up creating a pseudo ravine between them.

They didn't have time to think, so Shishida, being the sole cavalry ride, kept his hands and feet rooted on the ground for stable footing. However, they were coiled, meaning that he was ready to leap away at a moments notice.

"Shit, sorry. My head was getting fuzzy from standing still for so long," Shishida muttered their way. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing important," the plum-haired teen decided. "I'll call out if we're being approached from behind. Focus on keeping away from that Bakugo, he's after us."

"Darn, we let them get away!" Tetsutetsu shouted above Honenuki.

It would seem that Tetsutetsu, the one whose quirks matched Kirishima, was the rider for a team comprising of Honenuki, Awase Yosetsu, and Shiozaki Ibara.

Those two… they could be problematic. Shirou hadn't seen much of Awase, but Shiozaki had a quirk that provided immense offense and defense. It wasn't really at the scale of Todoroki, but it was still something to keep an eye out.

"I can bridge us across," Shiozaki added. "We can still get their points."

In response, Shirou prepared to trace a bunch of nameless swords to create a pseudo wall. It would give them enough time to back away–

"No, forget about that! We went after them because they looked easy. They aren't going to be as easy now." Awase shouted from beneath him, which Shirou was glad for. They were still gathering their bearings. "Let's just go and get the ten-million points!"

"... No, let's go after Kirishima's team first," they heard Tetsutetsu say. "He's been acting weird! I need to beat some sense back into him! Let's go, Honenuki! Shiozaki!"

When they disappeared, Shirou felt the bestial teen under him let out a sigh of relief. Everyone else on his back did the same.

"We weren't prepared for that," Shinso declared. "We could've lost right off the bat."

"My bad, my bad," the bestial teen sighed out. "Damn, my head hurts. What did you hit me with, Emiya?"

Shirou sighed and held up the still-traced Torashinai. "I couldn't wake you up normally, so I had to hit you hard. Sorry about that."

"' _Hard'_ he says," Shishida muttered. "My noggin's still ringing."

 _Which was what every competitor that faced Fuji-nee in tournament matches would say._

"Can we afford to take a breather right now?" Kodai asked.

"It should be fine," Shinso said. "The moat of softened ground would make it incredibly hard for other teams to get to us right now. We're cornered, but that works in our favor. We can use this distance as a way to safely gather points… but this won't last forever."

"Todoroki can still cross the gap, and Shiozaki too, now that I think of it," Shirou added. "Luckily, they're all focused on Midoriya right now. We can afford to stay back for now. However, if we grab someone's points, then they'll want to take it back."

"Hmm… with our current points of four-hundred-and-five, we're seventh," Shinso muttered. "Midoriya's at the top, which is to be expected. How about the others?"

Shirou surveyed the ensuing chaos before him. Everyone, literally everyone went after Midoriya. His team was evading and running as fast as they could. They could do that endlessly, but with the number of participants with movement restricting quirks like Honenuki, Bondo, or even Mineta, it wouldn't last forever.

The point board hadn't changed much, but that was to be expected. It was still fairly early in the game, so a bunch of teams hadn't even grabbed points yet.

"Do we have a way of actually grabbing points?" Kodai asked.

After a few seconds of silence, Shishida growled as he eyed the random explosions and sudden surges of ice. "If we stay here, then there's no way we do. We're going to have to get out there."

"Let's target the teams on the outskirts," Shirou suggested. "We'll go clockwise around the stadium and grab whoever we can. Shinso, can you surprise them with your quirk?"

"If there aren't any Class-B students who told them about it, then I'll be able to. They'll be following us once my quirk runs out, though." Shinso concluded. "Also, I thought I said you could call me Hitoshi."

"I have an idea for that," Kodai piped up. "Unfortunately, it's going to be a bit hard on you, Shishida."

Shishida nodded. "Alright, let's hear it."

From the way Shirou saw the bestial teen grin like a madman, he knew that he was liking it already.

* * *

After Archer's continual urging, the Todoroki employee relented and eventually left with him, most likely to sample the rest of the festival. Apparently, he couldn't be less interested in what was happening in the stadium.

Even though the bastard trained one of the participants himself.

Just thinking about it made Yu irritated.

The start to the second round of the sports festival first-year level was loud, mostly due to the audience's collective cheer shaking the stadium like a boat. It was frankly amazing the amount of hype that was put behind them, seeing as it was much more than twice the amount of attention she received when she was in U.A.

However, while she was glad that her adoptive son could take a break from all the training – with cooking in between – and simply have fun in the event, Yu had a feeling that he wasn't having fun in the slightest. The short scene after the obstacle race had ended etched itself in her mind and she couldn't forget about it no matter how much she tried.

First-year speaker, Bakugo Katsuki, was a wild card. He was fiercely competitive and had a huge attitude problem. It would probably wear away with age, especially since he's enrolled in U.A., but the way he acts, at least to other professional heroes, is deplorable. For someone who wants to save people for a living, this wasn't how they should act.

Fortunately for Yu, she wouldn't need to see the teen on the big screen any longer, seeing as her shift had ended. After at least an hour of standing outside, rotating around the grounds in case of any possible villain attack, she relished in the new-found relaxation.

The break room was small and was filled with some other professional heroes already, but upon noticing her they realized it was time for their shifts to start and hastily evacuated the lounge. It was amazing in its own right to see twenty-something other professional heroes file out in an orderly fashion.

Yu sighed in relief as she made her way into the room, dragging out a random seat to sit on, and grabbed a random bag of potato chips to feast on. She was still feeling a bit hungry.

She ignored the fact that she had been eating from every possible stall, internally keeping track of the recipes to try out one day, so being hungry was sort of unbelievable.

 _Her quirk was exhausting to use, damn it! Let a woman eat!_

Yu shook away the odd thought as Shinji entered the room. He had to use the washroom beforehand. He mirrored her actions and took a seat beside her.

"Good work," Shinji muttered in exhaustion, and he had every right to be. The number of delinquents from other city districts that caused problems, which his quirk was suited to deal with, was honestly too absurd to count.

"Good work," Yu reciprocated. God, she felt like a salaryman, which also reminded her of the paperwork she needed to do later. Wonderful. "You okay for our next shift later?"

"The five-thirty one?" He muttered rhetorically. "That isn't for another three hours, so I'll be fine. You need not worry."

Yu halfheartedly tossed a bag of potato chips towards him, which he caught with ease. "Thank you." He said as he opened it up to feast on. "So, how's the second round looking?"

"Pretty chaotic, all things considered," Yu mused. "I can't find Shirou, so he's not going after that Midoriya kid like everyone else."

It worried her. She expected to be able to see him from any of the screens but the redheaded teen was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was hanging back? Whatever the case, she just hoped he wasn't sitting it out from a sprained ankle or something. That'd be embarrassing.

"Speaking of which, that Midoriya is doing well. I'm not sure I'd be able to dodge all of those attacks." Yu added.

Shinji snorted just a tad bit. "I'm sure you would just use your quirk and enlarge yourself to keep the other cavalry riders away."

Huh, that _was actually_ something she'd do.

"… the cameraman is having a hard time following that young man around," Shinji noted. On the screen above them, the Midoriya kid and his team were constantly moving away from attacks and dodging them at the last second. It must've been thrilling to see live.

"Yup," Yu confirmed.

Once silence rose again, Yu was starting to feel a bit awkward.

 _Come on girl, find something to talk about. The silence is getting weird!_

Just as Yu's mouth opened to say whatever thought had randomly come to her mind, the door opened and a new professional hero made himself known. Or rather, herself.

"You in here, Yu-chan?" came the ever-familiar voice.

"'bami-chan~!" Yu cried out in joyful surprise. She leaped from her seat and hugged the living daylights out of her, which the snake-haired hero did much of the same. "What're you doing here? I thought you'd be in that booth upstairs!"

"I was~" Uwabami admitted with a sly smile. "-but I heard that your shift ended so I wanted to spread the good news!"

 _News?_

"News?" Yu muttered as she let go of her friend. "What news?"

"You see–" Uwabami said as she was about to explain, but then caught the sight of the rookie-rising-star hero. Her slightly gaping mouth twisted into a sly grin. "Oh? What's this? Was I interrupting something?"

Yu blinked.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it's just Shinji," Yu said without a fuss. "We share shifts so we have the same break too. A friend was with us for a while but she left with her ass of an employer for some reason, probably for work."

She could badmouth him if no-one recognized who she was talking about, right?

"Yu."

 _Damn it, Shinji knew!_

Uwabami let out an admittedly irritating hum. "Are you sure this 'friend' of yours left for work _alone_? Maybe she wanted to give you two some _privacy_?"

"Question, how would there be privacy when we're immersed in a crowd for hours on end?"

"Good question Shinji, but I still want to know what this 'good news' is, 'bami-chan," Yu added on the end. "Please don't change the subject either."

Uwabami frowned.

"… You've got a lot more serious after you started taking your hero duties seriously, not that it's a bad thing."

"I've always been serious, though?"

"Right, moving on," Uwabami hastily forced out and acted as if she ignored what Yu said last. "So, the good news. The U.A. school board has volunteered to be the first school to accept the hero course reforms I suggested!"

"Really!?"

"That sounds wonderful," Shinji added from behind.

"I know, right!?" Uwabami cheered. "I mean, they would have to be dumb to turn it down after I managed to get so many heroes on board with the idea, but just think of it! A lot of misunderstood kids with scary quirks would learn how to use them better. A lot of potential villains would be nipped at the bud, and Japan ends up safer for it!"

"I'm so proud of you, girl!" Yu exclaimed once more as she gripped her friend as hard as she could.

She truly was.

These past few months, Uwabami had tirelessly fought to gain support from her fellow heroes about how their very educational system, the system that worked to instill the proper values into quirk-powered children, was flawed. Though they preached quirk acceptance, there was always discrimination that existed.

Even back to the dawn of humanity, they had fought each other for the most minor of details. With history as a guide, whether it be from a difference of religion, a difference of ideas, or even something as minor as a difference in skin color, humanity has always fought amongst itself at the slightest drop of the brush.

Even now, there are a bunch of people who look down on those who lack quirks or even bully them. Activist groups dedicated to helping them sprout up, but that was something that happened in every age. However, there are no groups formed to aid those whose quirks were scorned by everyone, by society itself.

Quirks that could easily kill, quirks that couldn't be tracked, quirks that could perform the perfect crime, even if these quirk-users weren't guilty society drops them into the guilty seat and judges without hesitation. Guilty before being proven innocent, that was the case they always had to deal with.

More often than not, this ends up caging them, trapping their emotions like a dam until it finally all breaks out. In the end, they become villains without remorse. A self-fulfilling prophecy.

Society made them yet society didn't want to have to do anything about them. By creating a program for those kids, with quirks that strike fear instead of awe, they lessen the rate of villains and create a haven for these misunderstood children.

Without Uwabami's program to speed up the effort, then they'd be flooded with villains without end. An endless clash of good and evil, there still would be, but now with her program, at least the scales tipped to their favor.

"To think that this would all happen because you wanted to help out one kid," Yu muttered.

"Hitoshi's a good kid. People like him deserve better. I just gave them what they deserved," Uwabami finalized. She broke away from the bone-crushing hug and sighed in relief. "I'm glad I got that off my chest. Anyway, did you guys see how well Hitoshi and Shirou were doing?"

"We haven't been able to see them," Shinji pipped up from his seat. "The camera has been focused on the other teams, mostly that Midoriya boy." His eyes grew lidded. "To think… that boy, who jumped in when no one else could, would stand on this stage…"

"Oh, you know that kid?" Uwabami mused as she also took a seat. Yu went back to her own seat as her hunger for potato chips grew. "I wonder how that happened. Mind telling us?"

"It was with that slime villain. I believe it made headlines?"

"Wait, let me think… Yeah, I remember it now. It's all coming back to me."

"You don't remember," Yu stated.

"Got it in one, Yu-chan!" Uwabami shamelessly agreed. "I mean, I knew that the Bakugo kid was the one who that slime guy took hostage, but there wasn't any mention of another kid. All I heard was that All-Might saved the day like always."

"He did. His presence was necessary. Had he not appeared, then we would have lost the lives of two promising heroes," Shinji said. "All-Might did arrive, but he wasn't the first. We were there. However, my quirk was completely useless against that slime villain and Yu couldn't enter without destroying several buildings in the process–" she held back from smacking the back of his wooden helmet, "–so in the end, we were powerless. We allowed that child to struggle for his life endlessly."

It was a horrifying thought. Thousands of people all around you as you drowned in sludge as an evil voice whispered your inevitable doom, but none of them even lifting a finger to help you. Yu was surprised but glad, that he hadn't gotten some sort of stress disorder from it.

"That kid, Midoriya, was the only one to run and help. While it was reckless, he had the heart of a hero," Shinji admitted with eyes closed in admiration. However, his eyes snapped open as they fell in regret. "Had I known his potential, I would not have admonished him so greatly."

Yu frowned.

"Hey, the kid didn't even have a quirk back then! He deserved to be scolded. What if he did it again? Think of how his parents would feel if he always put himself in harm's way," Yu could certainly relate. It was a horrible feeling that she had even before she formally adopted that lovable sword-for-brains son of hers. "We did what we thought was right. No pity parties today. It's a sports festival, we should be enjoying it."

"Yu is right!" Uwabami declared, she snickered for some reason. Maybe it was some inside joke. "If you're gonna cry then take it outside. We got a festival to watch!"

Shinji, after a quick snort, went back to his seat. For some reason, Yu could feel that he had a smile growing under that wooden face mask. "You both are a handful."

"You say it like that's a bad thing," Uwabami shot back. "Look, Present-Mic and Aizawa are showing us the scores so let's just look… at… them?"

At her friend's trailing voice, Yu turned to the monitor–

"Well, what do you know?" Shinji muttered. "Looks like they were doing well after all."

 _First place, Midoriya had 10,000,310 points and stayed the same._

 _Second place, Tetsutetsu had 690 points but it rose to 1,590._

 _Third place, Emiya had 435 points but it rose to 810._

Everyone else below was Bakugo's team – with six-hundred-and-eighty at fourth – and Endeavor's son's team – with six-hundred-and-thirty-five at fifth – both of which hadn't changed from the start at all. Most likely because they were still after Midoriya, but that could quickly change, especially seeing as those students had started realizing their point difference.

"Hitoshi's on the kid's team, right?" Uwabami asked. "Looks like he's doing well."

"How did they get those points, though?" Shinji asked. "Never mind. The cameraman finally decides to show him."

Yu's eyes narrowed on the recognizable scalp of her son and his two other teammates. Both of whom sat with him on their fourth and final member, who looked to be carrying them all with relative ease. Around Shirou's neck were several headbands from other teams, the majority of which look to be lower-end numbers, meaning that her son had been going for quantity instead of quality.

 _But how did he get those points…?_

The answer was much more obvious than it seemed.

* * *

 _This plan wasn't a plan at all._

Shishida ran as fast as he could while Shirou grabbed the headbands from behind them, which meant he also detraced Torashinai because he would need both hands available. Since they were all focused on Midoriya, it gave them the perfect element of surprise.

In theory, anyway.

Ignoring the several traced items he had given Kodai, which she promptly shrunk and kept in her uniform pocket, that was literally it. That was the entire plan.

Due to Shishida's quirk, his size made it hard for others to reach up for the headbands around Shirou's neck. However, that wasn't the same for Shirou, who could lean down and grab them. From an upward tugging angle, the act of taking it was trivial.

Their theory proved to have worked when they managed to nab the points from Rin Hiryu's team. While Bondo's physique could match them, the benefit of Shishida going without footwear made sneaking up on them easy.

From there, they ran like hell. Bondo, of course, tried to use his glue-spray quirk to stop them in their tracks, but the traced shield from Kodai stopped it. She had to let go of it once the glue made it stick to the floor, but she ensured to make it grow to a supreme size. In doing so, she was able to prevent them from following as quickly as they could.

Also, from Shinso's input, it prevented them from getting blasted by Manga's quirk, whatever that quirk was.

From stealing Rin Hiryu's headband, their points had risen by a hundred-and-sixty, bringing them to a total of five-hundred-and-ninety-five. Not enough to worm past Bakugo and Todoroki's points, so they would need more.

Shirou frowned once he noticed team-Tetsutetsu's point total rise, which showed that they were now in second place.

"Who do we target next?" Shirou asked as he wrapped Hiryu's headband around his neck– he realized that Hiryu was his first name but he couldn't bring himself to call him Rin mentally.

The cloth was too smooth to create a tight knot, which was probably why it would pull away easily if pulled. Unfortunately, he couldn't just trace a helmet and wear it to block any attempts at stealing it. It was a foul play apparently, so that meant he had to settle for this.

"Over there. I recognize Shoda," Kodai said as she pointed over Shishida's shoulder. Following her view, Shirou could see Aoyama holding onto his navel, ready to fire a laser at any possible incoming enemy, which they would be if they approached recklessly.

"Hmm… We'll need to approach carefully," Shirou muttered.

"I got an idea!" Shishida shouted. He didn't listen for a reply as he shrugged his shoulder, which caused Kodai to fly up and onto Shinso, who had to let go of his shield and catch her.

Shinso had to make sure he didn't bite his own tongue. "What're you doing, Shishida!?"

"That blonde dude shoots his sparkly lasers at people, right!?" Shishida asked. He raised one arm, the one which Kodai was using for leverage, and held up a shield. Coincidentally, it was the one that Shinso had dropped. "We're charging in!"

Shirou blinked.

A second later, the bestial teen barreled forth, blasting smoke and dust into the air as he did so. It was hard keeping a steady grip, especially with the constant swaying his body had, but Shirou managed.

Shinso, while holding on for his dear life, made sure he was steadily wrapping his arms around Shishida's left shoulder. Kodai, on the other hand, settled for one hand grabbing the bestial teen and another around Shirou's waist.

"Aoyama! Our right!" Shouted Ojiro once he noticed their approach. "It's Emiya!"

At the mention of the third-rate magus' name, the showy blonde snapped to hasty attention as both Ojiro Mashirao and Shoda Nirengeki turned him so that their angle was better.

They were still a few meters away when the laser shot forth.

It was bright, blindingly so, but Shirou was saved from blinding his corneas when Shishida raised the shield to cover both his body and his riders.

Aoyama, who saw this changed his angle and aimed for his feet. However, with quick aid from Kodai, the shield grew and blocked the sparkling beam entirely. Inwardly, Shirou was glad he reinforced it because he distinctly remembered Aoyama being able to pierce through concrete given enough time.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't have that time. Shishida had already gotten close enough to them that Aoyama's beam would be more a detriment than a benefit.

"Shoda-kun!" Ojiro shouted as his tail impacted the shield harshly. While he wasn't allowed to attack the cavalry body, he could attack the shield, especially since it didn't count as the body himself.

"G-Got it!"

The impact of the tail strike was strong, good enough that it stopped Shishida's charge. Not that it was incredibly strong, but the bestial teen was no doubt worried for his passengers, who were already hanging on by a thread.

However, all they needed was a second or two to recover and they would be–

A second and undoubtedly stronger impact came and Shishida cried out in surprise.

The shield wrenched itself from his grip and barreled into the sky like a toothpick. Shishida gathered himself quickly and used his now free arm as leverage to hold them all up.

Shirou finally got a few words out as the teens stabilized. "What was that!?"

"Shoda's quirk, _Twin Impact_ , allows him to add a second impact to any attack. It's delayed but it the second comes with several times the power. He must've added it to that tail slap." Shinso informed as he steadied himself. "Shame that such a quirk is wasted on him."

Shirou blinked and then frowned. At first, he was a bit mad that he insulted his own classmate but then realized how Shinso's quirk worked best. It was dirty, but Shirou couldn't say anything about it. So he kept the words he wanted to say buried deep down.

Aoyama's team remained silent in response, already knowing what his quirk could do and didn't want to risk getting caught.

Shirou threw a hand out as Aoyama narrowly dodged him.

Unfortunately, this also meant that they couldn't communicate with each other. If they did, then Shinso could capitalize on it. Having Shirou physically attempting to grab it, alongside the threat of Shinso's mental assault if they let their mental guard down at any second, let to a dastardly combo. This was especially true with Shishida providing more movement leeway than a regular cavalry body.

"Behind us. Rin Hiryu is approaching!" Kodai shouted, loud enough to get Aoyama's attention.

When his mouth opened, Shinso acted fast.

"Are you leaving?"

"–we're leaving! Eh–?"

In an instant, Aoyama was mentally down. He simply stood atop the cavalry riders, who realized what happened. Ojiro frowned and leaped away. Shoda followed, although somewhat shoddily. Both of them were eager to get away from them.

In response, Shinso gave him his order. "Throw your headband to Emiya Shirou! Keep your team from following"

Even though they tried to stop it, Aoyama followed. Shirou caught it. Then, they left as quick as they came. With Aoyama actively pushing and shoving the two boys that carried him, they were too preoccupied to follow. If they let him fall, they were out of the event.

"This is looking good," Shinso said. "How many points do we have?"

"We have eight-hundred and ten," Shirou said after conducting quick mental mathematics. "We're in third place now, which should drag some attention onto us."

"Midoriya's first, but whose second?" Shinso muttered.

"Uh, guys?" Shishida called as his pace slowed. "We have a company."

Once Shirou paused to follow his line of sight, Shirou tensed up.

"I see them," Shirou muttered. "To also answer your question, Hitoshi, Tetsutetsu's team is second place. They're also dead ahead.."

"I see you remembered to use my first name this time," Shinso let out a small laugh. "We ran from those guys first and now we're back to try and catch them. Ironic."

"We got a plan?" Shishida asked, feeling a tad pressured from the teams around him. "That Aoyama dude looks like he'll be waking up soon. Rin's on his way."

Ignoring the familiar-sounding name, Shirou turned to Kodai. "How much ammo do you have?"

"Seven," she answered. "I haven't used any."

"I assume we're going after them?" Shinso asked.

After giving his teammate a nod, Shirou traced something in his hands.

His teammates wanted to win the event and move on. While Shirou personally didn't mind whatever placement he got in the end, he didn't want to disappoint the three teenagers who placed their trust in him.

Shirou took a deep breath. "Use them all. Box them in."

 _It would also be inconvenient if Bakugo raged again._

* * *

From within the stadium, two people stood over the railings. One was actively cheering at her little brother, while another simply sighed in minor exhaustion.

This was what Archer's day boiled down to. Accompanying his own employee with her free time while another manned the station. Setsuno was lucky that there would be little-to-no customers this week because otherwise he'd be flooded.

He really wished that he was there to help him out. More for Archer's own sake of course. It wasn't that he didn't like him, but he was hasty when pressured too much. The cafe had a reputation to uphold, of course.

"… You're thinking of work again, aren't you?" Todoroki Fuyumi's accused. She then sighed in exasperation. "I thought coming here would stress you less! Being a workaholic isn't good for you!"

 _If only you knew what real-work for me constituted as._

In comparison to that, the cafe was his sorely deserved vacation. A safe bastion where he would spend the rest of his days simply cooking a variety of dishes to a surplus of patrons.

Truly, it was his ideal vision of heaven. At least with food, he could see the faces of the people he satisfied. He didn't have that luxury with the dead terrorists he usually dealt with.

"If being a workaholic means being happy with my current lifestyle then so be it," Archer said with acceptance. However, in response, the counter-guardian sent her a berating glance. "In the first place, should an employee be berating their employer like this?"

"If that employee is worried about her employer's health, then yes!"

Archer gestured to himself. "I think you'll find that I am the perfect picture of health."

The Todoroki tried to find a response but reluctantly settled for pouting at him with a frankly ridiculous expression. She didn't deny his claim.

It vaguely reminded him of someone, but Archer didn't even attempt to dig through his record of memories. It was usually too troublesome to do so. So instead, he compared her to a wounded puppy.

"… Still, that doesn't excuse you from taking a break once in a while!" Fuyumi pushed.

Seeing an attempt at an explanation as a lost cause, Archer opted to hold his tongue. If he tried, then they'd be at it all day. Seriously, any other person would've been fine with the servant doing his job, but Todoroki acted like a nagging mother.

Archer's eyes softly folded into a close.

Speaking of mother… the woman that adopted his foolish younger self was an odd one. In some ways, she reminded him of the caretaker that cared for him in his formative years. While Archer could not clearly remember her name anymore, he could remember her vocal nature.

While this… Takeyama Yu wasn't as loud as his old caretaker, she was equally headstrong. Whether that was a good thing or not, Archer didn't want to think about it.

She didn't like him though, not one bit. Even a blind child can see that. He could feel the disdain she had just from the way her eyes twitched whenever he talked about her adoptive son– and Archer still felt odd about that.

He sighed.

If that idiotic younger self of his chose to tell that woman beforehand, then she wouldn't have been so irritable with him. She only disliked him because of her suspicion of him, which came from having found her precious child working in his shop without telling her.

If it was any regular situation, Archer would've sent the hypothetical underage worker with his parent. No questions asked.

The fact that it was Emiya Shirou, the bone-headed fool with nothing but swords and heroism on his mind, made it complicated. He knew deep down that wherever they went, trouble would inevitably follow. From the fact that his younger self was a U.A. student, which had an attack from an unknown League of Villains, only proved his case.

He was like a magnet that only attracted trouble. Fumbling into a secret war for a holy relic by a mysterious society of magi, fighting heroic spirits who could've easily ended his life, and now getting sucked into an entirely new world. Truly, trouble followed him like a puppy.

Archer snorted.

Like he was one to talk. In the same way that trouble followed his younger self, so did it follow him.

"Fuyumi. I did not expect you to be here."

Archer's closed eyes opened in mild frustration.

Case in point.

"Hello, F-Father…" Todoroki Fuyumi muttered out. "I was just here to cheer Shoto on!"

Archer only needed to tilt his head ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of her so-called father.

The man was built like an ox. It was a physique that many could admire, and combined with his status as a professional hero, ranked two in all of Japan, were a couple admirable trait to have.

It was a shame that he was an ass.

"Are you still working that ridiculous job?" He berated. "I did not pay for your educational degree just so that you would waste it at some worthless small-time diner."

Judging from the frown etched on his face, he wasn't happy. Then again, Endeavor was usually unhappy. The few interactions scattered across the fewer months that Archer had known him told him that much at least.

The professional hero's usual attitude often caused those around him to feel intimidated. It was as if an apex predator stared down their prey, or rather an ant that he wouldn't even bother deigning them a moment of acknowledgment. Not even his own flesh and blood were an exception.

"My my, Endeavor," Archer piped up. "Are you implying that my cafe is some worthless small-time establishment? Odd, seeing as most of my demographic consists of professional heroes, all of whom greatly enjoyed my dishes."

Archer was the exception. While others flinched and submitted, he would bark back and cull the arrogance before him. When compared to the King of Heroes, Endeavor was small-fry. Everyone was.

Endeavor snorted. "I trust no judgment but my own. Whatever those others believe, it doesn't change the fact that my daughter is wasting her time in your, _small-time_ , establishment."

Even if Archer merely dismissed his claims, he couldn't deny the truth in them.

Todoroki Fuyumi was a bright young woman, one who had the whole world for her to explore. She might've been mediocre, or even less so, in the eyes of her father, but Archer would not deny her tenacity.

Where U.A. excelled in the creation of professional heroes, other schools focused on pure education. She managed to graduate as a scholar in high school and pass her college classes with flying colors, and it showed in her work ethic.

So why would someone like her stop her chosen career path to cater plates in a simple cafe?

"If you haven't forgotten, Endeavor–" Archer added. From the way his frown deepened, the counter-guardian could tell he was irritated but pushed on anyway. "–She's under my employ because of a certain _someone._ " The act only seemed to deepen his anger. To be frankly honest, Archer found it amusing. "If only someone had managed to protect their own flesh and blood properly–"

"Farran-san!"

Words were left unsaid, but the wounds they dug still showed. The rank-two of the country seethed but said nothing. He couldn't after all. To deny it was to be a liar, and Endeavor was anything but a liar.

"Please, just… don't say anymore," Fuyumi said- or rather begged. "I don't blame him. Can we just move on?"

 _But your ass of a father does blame himself._

Again, those words were left unsaid, but from the way that Endeavor noticed Archer's watchful gaze, the meaning behind those words were conveyed anyway.

Endeavor shook away his irritation. "Your bark is as loud and irritating as always."

"Well, I suppose that my bark is worse than my bite."

"Tch, why did I even bother."

Endeavor suppressed any reaction and merely chose to leave, without even offering a word to his daughter. He didn't even seem to notice how she frowned at his departure.

However, Endeavor's apparent thoughts betrayed nothing. He didn't believe that claim one bit. Archer's bite was much, much worse than his bark.

He especially believed it after _what he saw_.

A blunder on the counter-guardian's part, but he was lucky that this man preferred method of doing things was by doing it himself. It was better this way, especially since Archer wanted nothing to do with this hero _infested_ society.

A society where these children all sought to become heroes naively… it made unwanted emotions crawl out of his rusted soul. Emotions of longing, irritation, anger, denial, ridicule– all flowed out like a river.

He hated this world of heroes, it was as if it existed just to spite the journey he took for his own forsaken ideal. However, he could not deny that, if he had been born in this world, then perhaps that asinine dream would've easier to obtain.

 _Probably not. Humanity was greedy and corrupted no matter where you go._

He wasn't as hopeful as his younger self.

"Farran,"

Archer held back his thoughts. Endeavor hadn't left yet. However, he was standing just by the steps. It would only take a few seconds for him to leave entirely.

"Don't forget. I'm only paying back this debt. Nothing more, nothing less," he growled out. "When you make a mistake, I'll be there to bring you in myself."

And with that, the flame-clad hero stomped away. All Archer did was sigh in response.

He blamed his disorientation when he arrived in this world of heroes. It made him not think clearly. The counter-guardian didn't regret what he did, but it did bring some unwanted attention.

" _The Cavalry Battle is about to enter the second half!"_ Present-Mic shouted. _"In this exciting play of events, who will wear the ten million points in the end!?"_

For once, that loud-mouth professional hero offered some well-wanted respite. Archer gazed back towards the stadium. He had no real need for the monitor to provide him any vision. His eyesight was already good enough, with or without reinforcement.

"Fuyumi," Archer called out, using her first name for once and acknowledging the fact she shot out of her apparent self-loathing in surprise. "Focus on your brother. I'm sure he'll be happy to know that you're watching. Take it from me. A sibling bond is one to be cherished."

Her frown slowly turned curios. "Did you have a sibling, Farran-san?"

 _Shit, said a bit too much. Oh well._

"A little sister, but she died due to an illness. Don't worry, I'm over it," Archer said, telling nothing but the truth to her apparent honor. The nature of her illness went unsaid. "That's exactly why you should cherish each and every moment you spend with them. You never know when you won't be able to."

The girl seemed to grow determined at his words and focused on the stadium. She reached into her purse and- wait, was that a flag with her brother's face on it? Where on earth did she have the time to make that?

"GO SHOTO! YOU CAN DO IT!"

 _Well, at least she was feeling better now._

With his employee feeling emotionally sound, Archer turned back to the stadium.

The one who held the ten million points was struggling, especially with the Todoroki and Bakugo boys going after him. Students surged at him at all sides in an attempt to reach the top. Twelve teams, but most of them were only after one.

It was like watching piranhas devouring themselves. Fitting. However, there seemed to be a few fish in this little pond that would rather skirt around and await an opportunity. One such fish… was his younger self.

The instant that Archer laid his eyes on him, he couldn't help the frown sprout from his face.

His day just kept getting worse and worse, didn't it?

Archer bet that that child didn't even notice it yet, what exactly was happening to him, what he was doing to those around him. If his former master were here, she would've snapped her wrist from slapping that fool so hard he wouldn't be able to even mutter a word.

"Ah, Farran-san! Look, it's our little kouhai, Shirou!" Fuyumi called once she too caught sight of him. "What do you think? Should we cheer for him too?"

Archer's lip twitched.

"Not in a million years," he said. There was no way he'd cheer on an idiot like that, especially with the current idiocy he had been spreading throughout the day. "Cheering for him would be wasted effort. The chances of him winning the event are astronomically low. In fact, they don't exist."

"Eh? But didn't you help train him?" She asked in confusion.

 _True, however…_

"That fool doesn't want to win this event. He doesn't even care how well he does," Archer explained. Halting at the last second of the race like an idiot, it was laughable. "It's for that reason alone that he isn't worth cheering for. Others want to win far more than he does. Just cheer for your brother, Fuyumi. Your 'kouhai' isn't worth it."

She seemed to frown at that, but understood his reasoning and cheered for her younger brother. For what purpose would there be to even cheer for someone not giving his all?

Honestly, it made the training he had done with him seem absolutely pointless if he wasn't going to use any of that here. That being said, Archer hadn't trained him for purely altruistic reasons. He had his own benefit to glean from it.

Emiya Shirou gleaned some experience from him. In the same way, Archer gained some experience from him too. He suppressed an irritated growl at being reminded at what exactly that idiot saw in this world.

Or rather, the things he saw that idiot do.

Archer sighed.

 _Rin should have been here._

Emiya Shirou was slipping, and he didn't even notice it.

At this rate, that ideal would never be reached. Even if he didn't care about doing well in this – frankly unnecessarily gaudy – event, there was still something he should be doing. Something infinitely as important that his younger self seemed to have forgotten.

The universe already had one counter-guardian with a heart of rusted steel. It didn't need another.

* * *

Shirou's team approached team-Tetsutetsu, who seemed unaware of their approach. The steel boy was much more focused on trying to get to Kirishima's team, which was also Bakugo's team.

While Shirou didn't know why he would do so, it provided them with the perfect distraction.

Kodai reached into her pocket and dragged out a small wooden shield. With a flick of her wrist, the disc was sent flying forward. Normally, it was too small to do anything, but the quiet girl's quirk activated.

The wooden disc, now a wooden shield fit to be wielded by a giant, spun and crashed into the dirt before team-Tetsutetsu, stopping them in their tracks.

"What the– Shiozaki!" Tetsutetsu cried out as his quirk activated on instinct.

His teammate understood quickly and drove her hair into the coarse dirt, allowing vines to spread and grow in their general direction.

However, they were prepared.

The torrent of greenery was brought to a halt when another wooden shield appeared before it, blocking its path.

"Damn! Not good!" Awase shouted as his eyes studied the wooden shields. They were tightly knit together despite having been thrown– his eyes widened in alarm. "They're going to cage us in!"

"We're going to lose Kirishima at this rate! Honenuki, topple the walls!" Tetsutetsu shouted, to which the recommended student below him followed. A ripple of softened earth made the titanic wooden shields sink into the ground.

Kodai, in response, simply tossed more and more gigantic shields around them, being extra careful to not hit and harm them. Giant objects could easily crush a man alive.

However, the shields simply sunk into the ground once more when Honenuki saw their approach.

"Hah! That did nothing!" Awase laughed from behind.

However, when Honenuki blinked and gazed downwards, he noticed something.

The floor caved in.

As if the floor beneath them was ripped under them, the mud that surrounded them poured down like a torrent surrounding them in an instant.

Emiya Shirou blinked.

"I think we overdid it with the shields," the third-rate magus admitted.

The plan was simple. Honenuki's quirk turned solid objects soft, so having solid shields buried under the mud would create a platform under them. However, once Shirou detraced the shield, all that would be left was a gaping hole in the dirt. With the brittle ground above it, the floor would give out from the lack of support and collapse.

In theory, they would've been trapped with almost no room for escape. Shirou would've been able to easily swoop down and grab their points if needed.

He didn't expect them to be fully submerged though.

"Sorry, I didn't control how big they would end up becoming," Kodai admitted.

"Are they alright down there?" Shirou muttered. Already, his mind formulated a plan to try and dig them out, which would be hard seeing as it was mud and that was hard to dig through without a shovel or something.

"Probably," Shinso admitted. "After all…"

Earthy mud and a burst of vines sprouted from the ground.

He frowned. "… they have Shiozaki."

On a platform of vines, team-Tetsutetsu rose like a phoenix from its ashes. Physically, they were fine, but they looked like they were panicking, Awase in particular.

"We were nearly buried alive!" He cried out. "What was that!?"

"They used my quirk against me," Honenuki answered. "I'll have to be careful next time. Shiozaki, you aren't pushing yourself, right?"

"No issues. I believe that we are blessed to have overcome this trial."

"Enough of that! That wasn't a manly move at all!"

"LOL"

Before Tetsutetsu could cry indignation, a vine from Shiozaki shot up, wrapped itself around his mouth and prevented him from spilling even a single word.

Shinso sighed. "It was worth a shot."

"They're coming," Kodai warned. "What now?"

Well, they were completely outclassed in offense because of a certain vine-manipulating quirk so a front-on match was a bad idea, to say the least. They had a mobility advantage, but it would fade once Honenuki used his quirk. Tetsutetsu himself was tenacious, so trying to grab his headband from his head was a risky idea.

In short, the simplest idea was the best one.

"Use your mobility Shishida," Shirou said. "Honenuki won't use his quirk much when we're nearby but you'll have to dodge Shiozaki's quirk."

They were taking the risk.

"That's a tall order, Emiya," Shishida nervously forced out. "She can lift a truck with her quirk, you know? I'm basically paperweight!"

"It's fine," Shirou finalized. In his hands, he traced his favored Kanshou and Bakuya. This time, they weren't dulled at all. "I'll be helping out."

Honenuki didn't use his quirk when they approached but waited patiently. There was no need to rush for team-Tetsutetsu, especially when they had a much more beneficial alternative.

The second they got into range of Shiozaki's quirk, the vines spread out. They surged forth like a tidal wave. It was less to harm but more to incapacitate. They would wrap around them and corral them into a more beneficial position.

However, when Shirou flicked his wrist, he sheered through the vines with complete ease. Her eyes widened as the shredded greenery fell to the wayside.

They might've been strong and sturdy vines, but a sword was sharp enough to cut through it either way.

Shirou didn't stop there. When more vines came he would cut it down. As degrading as the comparison was for both of them, the third-rate magus felt like a weed cutter.

Regardless, the distance closed. Shirou detraced Kanshou and reached for the headband. Tetsutetsu leaned back and tried to reach for his own, a war-cry echoing from the depths of his soul.

"You ain't getting this from me!"

"You sure?"

"Y–"

Shiozaki's vine wrapped around him again, preventing the dreaded words from escaping, as Shinso clicked his teeth in frustration. The steel-clad boy's hot-headed nature made it hard for him to keep quiet, which Shinso would exploit without hesitation.

It was a game of chicken. If Shirou got too close from his elevated perch, then Tetsutetsu would be able to snag some of the loosely tied headbands. In addition, Shinso kept riling them up, trying to make them prone to mistakes. Shishida darted around while holding them, but the ground beneath him was slowly being turned to mud. Shiozaki's vines were still an issue, and Shirou only had one hand to make sure they didn't snake their way onto his head.

In short, it was a cluster-fuck.

It was a stalemate. One that they could not afford, especially not with Aoyama and Hiryu's teams making their way there. The mud from Honenuki slowed them down, but they would get to them eventually.

With this in mind, Shirou leaned forward.

Tetsutetsu saw the opportunity and reached out with his iron fingers.

Shirou tilted his head back just enough that it didn't quite reach, but reached forth with his free hand.

He snagged a headband from them and sliced a vine that tried getting too close.

 _They got one._

"Now, Shishida! Run!" Shirou ordered.

The bestial teen complied without a second to spare, avoiding the softened earth that formed beneath them that finally surged forth. However, Honenuki foresaw it and sent out another wave to intercept, eager to retake their stolen points.

A quick act form Kodai saved them. With the last few shields she had tossed away, they grew in tandem, sinking into the mud and blocking Honenuki's line of sight. There was no doubt that Shiozaki would wrench it away, but it gave them enough time to flee.

And flee they did.

A solid five-second head start they had gotten, but with the superior physique of Shishida's quirk, they made some good distance. Aoyama and Hiryu's team backed off once they saw team-Tetsutetsu approach. Even if they had no points to give them, the idea of getting in between them and their prey wasn't one they'd entertain.

Seeing as they were somewhat safe for now, Shirou and his party took a breather.

"That was horrible," Shinso muttered. "I think my throat hurts. They didn't even say anything back."

"You're quirk's an open-book, it was a long shot anyway," Kodai affirmed. "The other teams might follow us later. Emiya, can you make some more?"

Shirou complied and traced several objects for her. This time, the magus intentionally traced them smaller, seeing as she could make them larger at any given time.

"S-So? How much did we get from that?" Shishida asked, wheezing just a bit from the physical exertion. Just because he had a quirk that made him a large and sturdy bruiser didn't mean he wouldn't get tired.

"Hold on. Let me check," Shirou replied.

The magus the blinked.

 _Eighty._

"Eighty."

"Eighty?" Shishida muttered. "That's it? All that effort for that?"

"Team Tetsutetsu must've taken it from Tsunotori's team," Shinso muttered in realization. "They're the ones with the lowest total points. We got unlucky."

Their total points were now at 890. It barely counted as an increase at all.

"I don't want to try that again," Shishida bemoaned. "They're gonna be ready next time!"

"Then we'll have to leave them alone," Shirou said. "We had unpredictability on our side, but that's gone now. If we face them again, they're going to win."

"So, who do we go for next, then?" Kodai asked. "There aren't many options."

True. From the twelve participating cavalry teams, Hiryu, Aoyama, and assuming Tsunotori were all at zero points. Therefore, they needed to keep an eye on them in case they tried to approach them.

A glance at the scoreboard showed who else was empty. Hagakure's team and Mineta's where the only other teams at zero. While Hagakure he could understand – the girl was topless for crying out loud – it surprised him that Mineta's team lost it.

From the few glances that Shirou could get, his team had some solid defense on them.

Shirou sighed in contemplation. "Well, we might be able to run for Kendo's team. While her quirk is a problem, we could probably sneak up on–"

The adoptive son of Yu stopped himself as the scoreboard updated.

 _Kendo's team reached zero._

 _Monoma's team reached four hundred and ninety._

Shirou looked around to find the copycat teen, only now remembering something he really shouldn't have forgotten. If he touched Monoma Neito, then his secret would get out. Not good.

"Well, any new ideas?" Shinso asked. "Because there aren't any new targets for us."

Shirou sighed. "We'll probably have to wait and see. There are few teams we can face and take points from. It might be for the best."

"So I can stop running so much now?" Shishida said, panting as he did so.

"We'll keep an eye out, but nobody's following us at the moment," Shinso added. "Team Tetsutetsu is going after Bakugo's team now, and Tetsutetsu seemed to have reasons to go for Kirishima. We should be fine."

With that, Shishida took a breather and stopped running. He merely walked to regain his energy.

Within the first half of the game, their team was spent. Or rather, the cavalry of it. Maybe having only one person carry them all wasn't a good idea?

There were still seven minutes left. Anything could happen-

" _What–!?_ " Came Present-Mic's overly eccentric shout. " _What happened? So fast! Really fast! Iida, if you could accelerate that fast, then show us in the prelims!_ "

Shirou blinked. He had been hearing Present-Mic screaming a while ago, but in the heat of things, he didn't pay him much attention. So this was his first time hearing any play-by-play from the loud hero.

 _Might as well listen. There could be some useful information from it, but what happened? And what was that from about Iida going really fast?_

" _The tables have turned! Offense and defense right at the edge! Reigning that in, Todoroki gets the ten million points! Midoriya is now suddenly at zero points!_ "

Shishida whistled.

"Well, that happened."

* * *

 **A/N: Alright that took a while. I'll admit, my time management skills aren't the best so I started working on this chapter half a month in. I had several classes that took priority. Also, big thanks to L33t Horo for getting back to me so quickly. I couldn't upload this chapter sooner because I was 1) asleep and 2) My Wi-Fi has no connection so I'm using a Mobile-Data hotspot to upload this. FFS.**

 **There was also the fact that I had to manually redistribute the points to account for Shirou's appearance and recalculate the total points that each team had. Totally didn't take five hours, nope. Not at all.**

 **Anyways, I've been getting a lot of people saying Shirou is OOC, and I'm starting to understand that. While I hate it, there's not much I can do unless I rewrite entire chapters which would lead to a hiatus. So instead, I'll be trying to fix it in-universe, but I don't have confidence I can fix it fully. I still don't personally think that Shirou, as depicted in this fic, is OOC, but I'm going to continue studying the character in my free time. Hopefully, that satisfies you lot.**

 **Let's see, the FGO Summer Rerun in JP has arrived. Time loop, groundhog day style format. I already rolled Summer BB so there's not really much I want from the banner (except for Ushi-Assassin because I need an AOE farming Assassin desperately. Or just Lancelot, just need that guy to farm everything). Anything else...?**

 **Oh yeah, there's a fantastic Fate/Overlord Story that I urge you to read if you like either of the series. It's called 'The Fake Player' by 7th Pride and it's criminally under-appreciated. That fic is ten times better than my own because it's written that much better than whatever I can concoct.**

 **Other than all that, I have nothing to say. I guess I could mention that I joined a discord filled with Fate Fanfic Writers, but in their own words: 'it's hell here' so I won't go into specifics. Just write up a review if you notice anything wrong with the chapter that both I and L33t Horo managed to miss. I know for a fact that there are errors in previous chapters that I'm going back to edit as soon as this chapter goes up.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kappa.**

 **A/N 2: Haha, three minutes after I post the chapter I find errors. Should be fixed, but there are probably still some left.**


End file.
